Recipe below: Tria with Cauliflower, Pistachio, and Anchovy, for Christmas Eve
Ever since I was a kid I’ve been drawn to humidity. New York summers have plenty of it. Manhattan streets in August have a disgusting appeal for me. Heat, sweat, and a little grime work wonders, keeping me alert. This is likely one of the reasons I always found commercial kitchens not only exciting but homey. All kitchens, really, but especially busy, hot, hectic ones. A summer street in New York is like a big hot kitchen. A winter street not so much, yet sometimes, if I’m lucky, I’ll look west down 13th Street and see winter fog steaming off of Hudson River. That’s a mood boost.
There’s nothing I dislike more than a clear, crisp winter day, but a good winter rain or snow is a thing of moist beauty. Entering my apartment out of a cold rain is one of my favorite winter experiences, provided the heat is working, especially if I’ve been to the Greenmarket or even a regular grocery store and bought root vegetables, chicories, or cabbage things, and can cook something I love, like broccoli rabe with anchovies, escarole with ceci, or celery root soup with pancetta. Right now I can still find local cauliflower at the Union Square market, sometimes even the orange ones or light green Romanesco spirals, all pretty, with tons of possibilities.
Last week I came back from the market with a big white cauliflower. I love cauliflower flavored with anchovy, so I immediately thought of that combination as a starting point, and I worked out this pasta dish. It came out so well I’m thinking of making it again on Christmas Eve.
Tria is the name of the pasta I made. It’s a semolina tagliatelle-type cut from the Salento area of Puglia. It’s usually made a little thicker than the soft wheat tagliatelle known northward, and it’s often cooked up with chickpeas. It was a good match for my cauliflower, anchovy, and pistachio condimento. If the sauce appeals to you and you don’t want to bother with the homemade pasta, you can make this nicely with a store-bought orecchiette. But, just so you know, semolina pasta is about the easiest homemade type you can turn out. Semolina and water are all it is. It’s smooth to handle and easy to roll, a great pasta with a little chew to it. I hope you’ll give it a try.
Tria with Cauliflower, Pistachio, and Anchovy, for Christmas Eve
1 cup hot water
Salt
2 cups semolina flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 large shallot, minced
1 fresh, moist garlic clove, thinly sliced
5 or 6 oil-packed canned anchovies, chopped (Agostino Recco is a good brand)
A big splash of dry vermouth
½ cup good chicken broth
The grated zest from 1 lemon
Black pepper
A handful of unsalted pistachios
A palmful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, lightly chopped
A chunk of grana Padano cheese
To make the tria, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in the hot water (hot tap water is good). Put the semolina in the bowl of a food processor. Pour on the water, and pulse until you have a mass of moist dough that’s just starting to form a ball. If it looks dry, add a drizzle more water. If it looks too wet, sprinkle in a bit more semolina. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, and knead it until it’s smooth and springy, about 5 minutes or so, adding more semolina if it starts to stick. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest, unrefrigerated, for at least an hour. This will give the liquid time to evenly seep into the dough to make it uniformly smooth and workable. I often let it sit a half hour or longer.
Next I generally cut the dough in four and run each piece through my hand-cranked pasta machine down to setting 5, making sure to sprinkle it with semolina as I go if it gets sticky. Then I cut the four sheets into approximately 5-inch-long pieces and let them sit on a semolina-floured sheet pan or work surface for about a half hour, so they can dry out a bit before cutting. Otherwise the strands might stick together, which is really annoying after all this work.
I like cutting this type of pasta by hand, so I dust each sheet with a little more semolina and loosely roll it up. Then, with a sharp knife, I cut it into approximately ¼-inch-wide rings. You’ll now want to unroll each ring and place it on a sheet pan or a cool surface, coating it all with semolina and tossing well so it doesn’t stick. Now the pasta will be ready to cook right away, or you can let it sit for a few hours, if you prefer.
Set up a large pot of pasta cooking water, add salt, and bring it to a boil.
While the water is coming to a boil, get the sauce going. Get out a large sauté pan, and set it over medium heat. Add the butter and a drizzle of olive oil, and let it foam up for a few seconds. Add the cauliflower and the shallot, and sauté until the cauliflower is tender and taking on a little color, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and anchovies, and let it sauté for about a minute longer.
When the water comes to a boil, drop in the pasta, and give it a stir. In my experience this type of pasta takes about 5 or 6 minutes to become al dente, which is what you’re looking for.
Add the vermouth to the sauté pan, and let it bubble for a few seconds. Add the chicken broth, the lemon zest, and some black pepper, and simmer a minute or so longer.
When the tria is ready, drain it, saving a little of the cooking water, and tip it into a large, wide serving bowl. Give it a drizzle of fresh olive oil, and toss it gently. Add the cauliflower sauce, the pistachios, and the parsley, and toss again. Taste for salt. You may or may not need any, depending on your anchovies. Add a little cooking water, if needed, to loosen it up. Serve right away, bringing the grana Padano to the table for grating.
Erica De Mane 
Another delicious invention! I’ve been wanting to try making this type of pasta dough. And…I want that Christmas decoration! Love it!
The dough is really satisfying to make. It’s smooth and easy to roll out. The trick is to make it with hot water. It seems to have a relaxing effect. And yes, the ornament. I collect food ornaments. I don’t like a generic tree. Happy Christmas to you. Erica
Happy Christmas to you Erica…thanks for a year of great recipes and interesting reading!