Sicilian Pasta con Broccoli Arriminata

Pasta con Broccoli Arriminata is a quick and tasty dish sweet and savoury dish from Sicily. It is a distinct dish in Sicily’s rich cuisine. Despite the confusing name, the star ingredient is of course cauliflower. It turns out ‘broccoli’ in Italian means cauliflower in Sicily. There is no broccoli in this dish. You then mix in raisins and pine nuts and anchovies. And then toasted breadcrumbs add a crunchy finish. And this mixture is where this dish gets its name. Because Arriminata means ‘mixed’ in Sicilian dialect. And this is why

Origins of Pasta con Broccoli Arriminata

Cauliflowers have been on the island for a very long time. And Sicilians will proudly tell you how big they can grow their cauliflowers. For this reason, this dish has has a long history in Sicily. The Arabs brought many ingredients to Sicily in the 9th and 10th centuries. These ingredients included saffron, raisins, and pine nuts. These are still central to Sicilian food to this day.

Pasta con Broccoli Arriminata can be found in many local trattorias across Sicily. It is especially in cities like Palermo, Catania, and Agrigento. But it is a dish enjoyed most at home.

Preparation

You can make Pasta con Broccoli Arriminata really easily at home.

1. Prepare the Cauliflower: Boil the cauliflower in salted water until tender. Drain and save the cooking water. Break the cauliflower into small pieces. Set aside.
2. Create the Sauce: In a large pan, heat olive oil. Then sauté the chopped onion and garlic. Add the anchovy fillets and cook until they break down. Stir in the raisins, pine nuts, and saffron.
3. Combine Cauliflower and Sauce: Add some cooked cauliflower to the pan. Then stir to mix everything together. Simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Cook the Pasta: Cook your pasta in the reserved cauliflower water until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the pan with the cauliflower sauce. Toss to coat.
5. Serve: Top with toasted breadcrumbs for a crunch and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Buon appetito! 🇮🇹

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Pasta con broccoli arriminata

Pasta con Broccoli Arriminata is a quick and tasty cauliflower pasta dish from Sicily. with distinctive ingredients representative of Sicily’s rich cuisine.

Ingredients

• 1 large head cauliflower (outer leaves removed, and cut into florets)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 100 grams stale white bread (crusts removed, and made into breadcrumbs with a food processor)
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 50 grams pine nuts
• 5-6 anchovies
• 50 grams raisins
• 15 grams saffron
• 300 grams dried pasta ((bucatini or spaghetti work well))

Instructions 

• Boil the cauliflower florets in a large pan of salted water until soft enough to break up with a fork. Drain the cauliflower, reserving the water.
• Add some extra virgin olive oil to a frying pan and fry the breadcrumbs on a very low heat until they turn golden brown and crispy. Do not let them burn. Set aside
• In a clean pan, heat some extra virgin olive oil and sauté the onion for 8-10 minutes or until soft and translucent. Then add the anchovies, and cook for 1-2 minutes, breaking them up into the onion with a spatula.
• Add pine nuts, raisins and saffron and cook for a 2-3 minutes on a low heat
• Boil the cauliflower water in a pan big enough to hold the pasta, topping up with water if necessary. Cook the pasta until al dente then drain, reserving a little pasta water.
• Add some pasta water to the cauliflower mixture if too dry so that it has a thick sauce consistency, then add in the pasta and stir well.
• Serve and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.