La Cucina Eoliana e Siciliana: The Food of the Eolian Islands and Sicily

S
LA CUCINA EOLIANA E SICILIANA
the food of the eolian islands and sicily

penne con acciughe, capperi e mollica

penne with anchovies, capers and toasted breadcrumbs

ingredients:

1     pound penne or pennette
4     cloves chopped garlic
8     anchovy filets
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs
       (see recipes under photo)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
crushed red chili pepper (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add the penne, stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking.

Prepare the toasted breadcrumbs as described in the recipe below. Chop the parsley very fine and coarsely chop the garlic, then rinse the capers.

Heat the olive oil along with the garlic in a large sauté pan over moderate heat, allow the garlic to cook for a few moments, then add the anchovies, mashing them in the pan. Add about 2 tablespoons of pasta water to prevent the garlic from cooking any further, and then toss in the capers. Check for salt intensity and sprinkle in the crushed chili pepper if desired. Set aside.

When the pasta is al dente, strain the penne, then return the sauté pan to the burner over moderate heat and immediately toss in the pasta. Add the parsley, toasted breadcrumbs and chili pepper, if desired, stir and evenly combine with the pasta. Transfer to a large serving bowl or to individual bowls.

text, recipes and original photographs copyright © 2000-2005 ~ la cucina eoliana e siciliana ~ all rights reserved

special thanks to adam butler for the use of his photographs

alberto@lacucinaeoliana.com

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mollica

toasted breadcrumbs

To prepare the toasted breadcrumbs it is preferable to make them from stale, dry bread, by either grating the bread by hand into a large mixing bowl. Better still, is with a food processor and engaging the pulse switch. Be sure not to allow the crumbs to become too fine.

You can use packaged plain breadcrumbs from the market; however, the quality will not be as good as homemade and are often too fine for adding to a pasta sauce.

Lightly coat a pan with olive oil and allow the pan to warm over moderate heat and add the breadcrumbs. Constantly stir the breadcrumbs to prevent them to sticking or burning. When they have evenly toasted to a golden brown, remove them from the pan and set aside. You can make as much as you like, as they will keep for some time in a covered plastic container.

pangrattato

grated breadcrumbs

Follow the same criteria as above by using stale, dry bread and, instead of coarsely grating the bread, use the finer grating side of the grater and grate into a large mixing bowl. You can also use a food processor grate setting or the lowest possible setting. Again, try not to overly refine the crumbs, as they can become too fine by pulverizing them into an unusable powdery consistency.

Before the days of food processors and electrical gadgetry, my mother and grandmother used to make breadcrumbs by placing the stale crumbled bread into a paper bag and pounding the bag with the side of an empty wine bottle. This method is certainly still in use and one that I resort to when there are odds and ends of bread in the cupboard.