Peasant Pasta with Herbed Crumbs

What can be more satisfying and comforting than a bowl of pasta? okay, maybe there are a couple of things but a bowl of pasta is certainly among them. Here is a simple pasta to make when you are low on ingredients or just feel like something good and quick. The herbed bread crumbs are one of the things I usually have in the freezer, ready to be incorporated into many different dishes. Of course you can elaborate on this dish but it’s charm is in its simplicity. I like this dish so much that I put it on the cover of my pasta book (see below). What else you might need? oh, yes, a glass of Chianti Classico. Cin Cin.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb spaghetti

1 cup herbed crumbs (see below)

1/3 cup Olive oil

1 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/3 cup grated parmesan

1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/3 cup pine nuts

Directions:

Toast pine nuts in a small skillet until golden. You can add a teaspoon of olive oil to get the golden colour.

Put oil and Italian seasoning in a small skillet and place on low heat to warm up the oil and infuse it with the seasoning. Turn off heat if the oil begins to sizzle.

Place herbed crumbs in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and allow to toast and warm up on medium heat. Be careful not to burn and turn heat off when they are warm and toasty.

Cook pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water until barely al dente. Drain and toss with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the herbed crumbs and  mix.

Add parsley and parmesan and sprinkle pine nuts on top.

Serve immediately with extra grated parmesan.

Herbed crumbs:

4 cups bread cubes made with a day old bread
4  tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning or 1 tablespoon each thyme and rosemary and a pinch hot pepper flakes
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Place bread cubes in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning or herbs.

Place in 375℉ oven and bake until bread is golden, stirring once or twice.

Remove from oven and let cool. When cool place in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or place in food processor together with parsley and pulse a few times to chop roughly.

Store in a freezer bag in the freezer or use immediately.

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