Pasta with Romanesco, Capers, and Chiles

(from castro15’s recipe box)

Categories: Pasta

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 head romanesco, florets sliced off and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed if packed in salt
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 3 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 14-ounce can of whole tomatoes
  • 3/4 pound tubed, ridged, or ruffled pasta, for catching the sauce parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

  1. Put a large pot of water on to boil, salting it generously.
  2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the chopped onion, stirring for 7 or so minutes until it becomes translucent and begins to caramelize . Add the garlic and the chile flakes, as well as hefty pinch of salt. Stir and cook for two minutes until garlic is fragrant. Add the capers and the golden raisins, Stir in the tomato paste, let caramelize for a minute, and then pour in the wine and stir, getting up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the sauce cook for 3 or 4 minutes, until wine is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and romanesco and cook until the sauce reduces slightly, about 10 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of your spoon.
  3. Cook pasta in salted water for two minutes less than the package directions, or until it is just shy of al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Add pasta and 1/4 cup of cooking water into the sauce, stirring to combine. Cook pasta with sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce turns glossy and coats the noodles. Add more pasta water if the sauce looks dry. Serve piping hot, with extra chile flakes and generous amounts of parmesan cheese.

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