comfort cauliflower

A friend of mine from high school was in town and we spent a lot of time  Sunday walking around in frigid weather.  After we were done walking around today in downtown boston, I biked home in the twilight, and by the time I got home I was really chilled.  I changed into warm dry clothes, had some tea,  sat and read under a blanket- nothing was helping.  It was time for comfort food!

This is a favorite of mine. The Scientist isn't as fond of cauliflower as I am, so I tend to save it for when he's away.  I got the recipe from a cookbook called 101 Sicilian American recipes you can't refuse,  but I've seen something similar in a Minimalist column.  To me it's just everything I want in comfort food- some spice, some garlic, a tiny bit bitter, but with a rich mouthfeel, brimming with umami...

Cauliflower Pesto

1 head cauliflower
1 onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced,
1 tsp red pepper flakes
 2 anchovies
1 tbs capers
pasta (prefereably short chunky shapes)
parmesan cheese at the table.

Bring a big pot of  salted water to boil and add the cauliflower, broken roughly into chunks.
Saute the onions in olive oil, adding the red pepper, anchovies and garlic when the onions are getting a little brown.  Mash the anchovies up with the back of a spoon until they are like a paste, and hold at lowe heat.
When the Cauliflower is cooked,  remove the florets from the water, keeping the boiling water to use for the pasta.   Add the florets to the onions, and stir to combine, adding the capers-  you might need another glug of olive oil.
When the pasta is done, toss with the cauliflower and top with the parmesan cheese.
Serves 4.