Recipe - Pasta Nests With Creamy Cauliflower And Bechamel (Tuscan)

1 Head white cauliflower
1 tablespoon White vinegar
4 tablespoon Extravirgin olive oil
3 Cloves garlic; minced
One fourth teaspoon Chopped fresh Oregano
Salt and black
2 tablespoon Butter; plus
2 ounce Butter; cut into 8thin pats
5 tablespoon Unbleached flour
2 cup Milk
1 pound Vermicelli
One half cup Freshly grated
ParmigianoReggiano

1. Break the cauliflower into florets, slashing any thick stalks lengthwise
so all parts cook evenly. Boil until just tender in salted water with
vinegar added (to keep the cauliflower white). Drain and chop finely.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the garlic over low heat until
soft. Add the cauliflower and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add
the oregano, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

3. Make the bechamel by melting 2 tablespoons butter in another skillet.
Add the flour and stir with a fork to pastelike consistency. Whisk in the
milk, pouring in a steady stream until the sauce has thickened. Keep warm.

4. Meanwhile cook the pasta until very al dente. Drain.

5. PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 16inch baking pan and
spread 2 tablespoons of the bechamel sauce over the surface.

6. To assemble the pasta nests, twirl 10 strands into a nest with an open
center. Place the nest in the baking dish and fill with cauliflower. Repeat
until you have 16 nests. Pour the remainder of the bechamel over the nests,
sprinkle with cheese, dust with pepper, and bake for 20 minutes. Serve
immediately.

SERVES 4; TIME: 7590 minutes; Easy. mcPER SERVING 41% cff: 837cals;
38 g fat

MAKE AHEAD: The cauliflower can be cooked up to 4 hours in advance and
refrigerated.

"Nidi D'uccello," or "Pasta Nests with Creamy Cauliflower and Bechamel,"
from SOLO VERDURA, by Anne Bianchi (Ecco, 1997). Edited by Pat Hanneman
3/98

Notes: When my friend Sheila, saw me making these pasta nests, she asked
whether the flavor was any different than it would be if the pasta was
simply tossed and baked without taking the time to twirl it into tests.
"Well, no, I had to reply. Probably not." But then I thought about it
again: Does presentation affect flavor? And having restructured the
question into this saner more creative framework, I retracted my previous
answer. "Actually," I told her, "it does. After all, don't you usually

have a better day when you're looking your best?"

Recipe by: SOLO VERDURA, by Anne Bianchi

Posted to MCRecipe Digest by KitPATh phannema@wizard.ucr.edu on Mar 26,
1998