Pasta ca’ Muddica

Though I’m one quarter Sicilian, I never tasted this dish until I visited cousins there in 1974. Breadcrumbs toasted in a little olive oil were a substitute for the grated cheese some people couldn’t afford to buy to sprinkle on pasta. To this day, bread is considered precious in Sicily, and none is ever discarded. Anchovies packed in olive oil make an adequate substitute for the salted anchovies used in Sicily, though if you’re lucky enough to find salted anchovies, use them, as oil-packed