Buy snow-white cauliflower with no brown spots; use broccoli or one of the hybrids (broccoflower, romanesco broccoli, and so on) if the cauliflower does not look good. And though it is a full-flavored dish, remember that cooking will mellow the assertive flavors of the anchovies and garlic, so don’t skimp on either. This dish is just as good warm as it is hot.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put the cauliflower in a steamer above an inch or two of salted water. Cover and cook until it is just tender, about 10 minutes, then plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
Step 2
Combine the oil, anchovies, garlic, and hot pepper if you’re using it in a large, deep skillet and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the anchovies begin to break up and the garlic begins to color, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Add the cauliflower and raise the heat to medium-high. Continue to cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes more, until the cauliflower is coated with oil and heated through. Garnish and serve hot or at room temperature.
Anchovies
Step 4
Anchovies come in three forms: canned, paste, and salted. Canned are most familiar and a nearly ideal convenience food. It’s worth pointing out that you want to buy those packed in olive oil, never soy or cottonseed; the ingredients should read “anchovies, olive oil, salt”—no more.
Step 5
Anchovy paste is marginally more convenient. But it’s more than twice as expensive by weight as canned anchovies, and it often contains cream, butter, preservatives, and other unnecessary ingredients. Salted anchovies, which are sold in bulk in Italian markets from a large can or bucket, are delicious, but a hassle: before using them, you must rinse them and peel each fillet off the skeleton.
