Spaghetti with Anchovies, Capers and Bread Crumbs

This recipe uses what Italians call "the poor man's parmesan cheese" - fried bread crumbs. It's actually a really delicious topping to put on pasta.  This pasta sauce takes a mere 5 minutes to make!

Ingredients:

 for bread crumbs:

• some crustless bread (can be stale), pulsed into crumbs in food processor

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 2 large pinches of kosher salt

Take about a cup of the bread crumbs and fry in the olive oil until crispy and turning rosy. Add salt. Set aside.

for spaghetti:

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 3 anchovy fillets*

• 1 large garlic clove, minced

• 1 heaping Tablespoon capers in salt, rinsed

• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

• lemon zest

• 8 oz. thin spaghetti

Instructions:

While you make sauce, cook the spaghetti until just al dente.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add anchovy fillets. Heat them gently and stir with spatula until they dissolve.

Add garlic and heat gently for about two minutes. Do not let it burn.

Add half the parsley, all the capers and cook for one minute. Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet and toss, coating with the sauce. If a little dry, add a few tablespoons of the pasta water. Add the rest of the parsley, the bread crumbs and lemon zest and toss again. Serve hot.

The Italian Dish Food Blog