Recipe for an Amazing Spaghetti with Garlic Breadcrumbs
If you have some bread left over, never throw it away. Guard it with your life: it is a precious treasure in the kitchen. Every Italian knows that. Why not make this amazing spaghetti with garlic breadcrumbs!
For Sardinia-based cookbook author Letitia Clark, breadcrumbs are a daily source of magic. Letitia: “I like them even more than fresh, crusty bread; crisp-fried breadcrumbs, or thick toasted croutons, chewy on the inside and crisp and oil-soaked on the outside.
Stale bread often forms the basis of many an Italian classic, from ribollita to panzanella. In such dishes, it is not merely a filler or textural element, but often the very best part of the entire dish. For example, when you eat panzanella, is it the tomatoes that people fight over at the table, or the pieces of deliciously chewy, oil-soaked bread?”
Poor Man’s Parmesan
“In this classic, loosely based on the Sicilian spaghetti con la mollica, golden, garlicky breadcrumbs provide both the nutty, toasted flavour and the crunchy texture. This means no grated cheese is needed (in Sicily, they are therefore sometimes called ‘poor man’s Parmesan’). In Sicily, wild fennel is also often added; it grows just as abundantly there as it does here in Sardinia. The fennel provides a wonderfully sweet, herby element, but if you cannot find it, a handful of finely chopped parsley is an excellent alternative.”
How to make spaghetti with garlic breadcrumbs
- Bring a pan of generously salted water to the boil and add the spaghetti.
- Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and fry them, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes over medium heat until golden brown all over. Scrape the breadcrumbs out of the pan and leave them to drain briefly on kitchen paper.
- Wipe the pan clean and add another 3 tablespoons of oil. Fry the slices of garlic for 1 minute until lightly golden. Add the anchovy fillets and stir until they begin to melt. Remove from the heat and add the chilli flakes, lemon zest and chopped fennel.
- Drain the cooked spaghetti (I usually cook it 2 minutes less than indicated on the package) and reserve a cupful of pasta water. Return the spaghetti to the pan, add the sauce and put it back on the heat. Add a generous splash of the pasta water and toss the pasta so that it is coated in sauce. If it looks dry, add a little more oil or pasta water. Once you are happy and the dish looks glossy and moist, season further to taste. Add the breadcrumbs and, if desired, a little more oil, and toss again.
- Divide between two plates and add another splash of oil and some fennel fronds just before serving. Delicious with a large glass of wine.
Title: Wild Fig & Fennel
Author: Letitia Clark
Price: €29,99
Publisher: Becht
In this beautiful cookbook by Letitia Clark, you can cook delicious Italian dishes all year round using the best produce from each season. Use the first green asparagus of spring in a tasty pasta with chilli and Parmesan, or give classic Italian tiramisu a twist with summery strawberries. Pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter and ricotta is the perfect autumn dish, while in winter you can warm up with pasta puttanesca. From meat and fish to vegetarian dishes, and from antipasti to pasta—there is something for everyone.
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