Name: Pasta Ammollicata (Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs, Anchovies and Parsley)
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 4 as a first course, or 3 as a main course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; salt; 1 dried chilli, crumbled; 375 g (12 oz) spaghetti; 8 anchovy fillets, drained and mashèd; 125 ml (4 fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil; 2 garlic cloves, chopped very finely; 75 g (3 oz) fresh white breadcrumbs

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a first course

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
30 min

Appears in

Pasta-lover's Cookbook

By Anna Del Conte

Published 1994

About

In the old days, poor people could not afford grated cheese for their pasta, so they used fried breadcrumbs instead.

This is one of the 13 traditional antipasti served in Calabria at the cenone - midnight feast – on Christmas Eve.

Ingredients

375 g (12 oz) spaghetti
125 ml (4

Method

Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a large frying-pan with the garlic, half the parsley and the chilli. Cook for half a minute and then mix in the breadcrumbs and a little salt. As soon as the oil has been absorbed and the crumbs begin to colour, add the anchovy fillets, the spaghetti and the re