Penne with Cauliflower Tomatoes & Basil

This penne with cauliflower and tomatoes leans on a smart shortcut: the cauliflower cooks right in the pasta water during the last three minutes of boiling. One pot, one drain, dinner on the table fast.

The sauce is barely a sauce. Chopped roma tomatoes, fresh basil, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, a clove of garlic, and good olive oil sit in a bowl while the pasta cooks. The hot pasta and just-tender cauliflower hit that mixture and warm everything through, releasing the basil’s perfume and softening the raw garlic just enough to mellow the bite.

The key is finely chopping those roma tomatoes. You want them small enough to cling to every piece of penne, almost like a chunky pesto. Use the ripest summer tomatoes you can find, this is not a dish for pale, mealy off-season fruit.

Chef Tips

• Salt your pasta water generously. With this minimal sauce, undersalted pasta tastes flat.
• Don’t overcook the cauliflower. Three minutes in the boiling pasta water is enough; you want bite, not mush.
• Reserve half a cup of starchy pasta water before draining. Splash some in if the dish needs loosening.
• Use the sun-dried tomato oil instead of fresh olive oil for an even deeper, sweeter tomato note.

Variations

• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or a chopped Calabrian chile for heat.
• Toss in a handful of toasted pine nuts or a few torn anchovies for richness.
• Swap penne for orecchiette, the cup-shaped pasta cradles the cauliflower beautifully.