Just when you think you have nothing to serve for dinner, toasted breadcrumbs along with a few pantry items — garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and anchovies — come to the rescue, working together to produce an unbelievably tasty dinner. This is pantry cooking at its finest — quick, easy, delicious. // alexandracooks.com

Homemade bread crumbs slipped into our dinner regimen slowly, appearing on our salads to start, the kale caesars in particular, quietly replacing croutons altogether.

But shortly after their introduction, perhaps encouraged by their warm reception, they made haste, and soon began garnishing our pastas, mingling with our roasted vegetables, delicately topping our fish fillets. These days they’ve gotten completely brazen, sometimes accompanying every item on the plate. I don’t know when this trend will fizzle, but I’m liking it very much at the moment.

The inspiration to start whizzing my stale bread in the food processor, storing the crumbs in the freezer, and toasting them in a skillet with olive oil at the dinner hour, came from two sources: a great chef interview on the kitchn in early November and the editor’s letter in this month’s bon appètit, which offered tips on how to be a better cook from seven renowned chefs around the world including Mario Batali who admits that “there’s almost nothing [he] wouldn’t put homemade bread crumbs on.”

I’m starting to share this sentiment. These crunchy, salted, olive-oil toasted bits are truly addictive.

What’s best about this recent addition to the pantry is that it makes use of an ingredient that often was destined for the trash. Now, stale bread never goes to waste. At the first sign of its aging, into the food processor it goes, and from there, into the freezer it gets stashed.

What’s more, just when I think I have nothing to serve for dinner, toasted bread crumbs along with a few pantry items — garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and anchovies — come to the rescue, working together to produce an unbelievably tasty dinner.

This pasta dish, inspired by a recipe in Batali’s Molto Italiano can be spruced up with caramelized onions, if you feel like making them, or sautéed greens, if you have them, but if you don’t, don’t fret. I promise that with just four ingredients, a delectable dinner will materialize. This is pantry cooking at its finest — quick, easy, delicious.

green salad with toasted bread crumbs

Never let stale bread go to waste again: tear it up; throw it in the food processor; pulse until fine; store the crumbs in an air tight container or ziplock bag in the freezer for months.
stale bread

bread in cuisinart
pulsed bread
storing bread crumbs

When you’re ready to toast your bread crumbs to add to pasta, salad, roasted vegetables, etc: heat about 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; sprinkle in about a cup of bread crumbs; season with a pinch of salt; stir until golden; remove from heat until ready to use.
toasted bread crumbs

With these four ingredients on hand, you have the makings of an unbelievable pasta dish.
ingredients

sauce ingredients
sauce, sizzling
Just when you think you have nothing to serve for dinner, toasted breadcrumbs along with a few pantry items — garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and anchovies — come to the rescue, working together to produce an unbelievably tasty dinner. This is pantry cooking at its finest — quick, easy, delicious. // alexandracooks.com

I love a citrus vinaigrette this time of year:
salad dressing ingredients

I have always loved the Chez Panisse Vegetables technique for making salad dressings, which often starts with macerating shallots in citrus juice or vinegar. This is what I have been doing lately:

Finely dice a shallot or two. Place in a bowl and cover with the juice of one orange. Add 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and a pinch of sugar. Let macerate for 15 minutes, if you have the time, or less, if you don’t. Whisk in about 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil. It’s ok if the dressing is not totally emulsified. Just give it a stir when you’re ready to use it and spoon it, making sure to scoop out some of those delicious shallots, over your greens in a large salad bowl when you’re ready to toss them with those irresistible toasted bread crumbs.

macerated shallots
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Pasta with Crispy Bread Crumbs, Anchovies, and Garlic


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

Save Recipe

Description

Pasta inspired by a recipe in Mario Batali’s Molto Italian

Notes re bread crumbs:

As I mention in the post, I make bread crumbs whenever I have stale bread on hand. Once you have a stash of whizzed bread crumbs in your freezer, making toasted bread crumbs to add to various dishes becomes effortless.

This is the formula I adhere to most often: 2 tablespoons olive oil to every 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs.


Ingredients

For the bread crumbs:

  • stale bread
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt

For the pasta:

  • 1/2 lb. short pasta, such as campanelle, orecchiette, or gemelli
  • kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 4 to 5 anchovies, minced
  • freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil or parsley
  • 1 cup toasted bread crumbs


Instructions

  1. Make the bread crumbs: Tear up stale bread (fresh or days-old) and place in a food processor. Pulse until crumbs are mostly finely ground. This is the formula I love: Toast 1 cup crumbs in about 2 tablespoons olive oil with a pinch of salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until crunchy and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Taste. Salt to taste.
  2. Make the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big pinch of kosher salt. Add pasta and cook al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Drain. Set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, place oil, pepper flakes, garlic and anchovies. Bring to a sizzle over high heat. Swirl around so that all of the ingredients mingle together — 30 seconds or so — then remove pan from heat. Set aside.
  4. Place pasta in a large bowl. Add about 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking liquid and toss. Add the anchovy-infused olive oil mixture and toss well. Taste. Add more pasta cooking liquid if necessary. Season with salt (if necessary) and fresh cracked pepper if you wish. Add chopped basil and toasted bread crumbs, and toss well. Serve.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Italian