Pasta With Fried Peppers & Bread Crumbs |
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Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes |
Ready In: 50 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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Pasta Con Peperoni Cruschi E Molica Fritta. The secret to making this hearty Basilicatan specialty is to fry the dried peppers to a delicate crisp. This recipe was first published in Saveur in issue #120. Ingredients:
1/4 lb country bread, cut into 1-inch cubes |
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling |
8 peperoni cruschi di senise bell peppers or 8 guajillos bell peppers or 8 pasillas bell peppers, stemmed and seeded |
4 anchovies, chopped |
6 garlic cloves, chopped |
2 pints cherry tomatoes |
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste |
1 lb pasta, such as fusilli |
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325˚F. 2. Bake bread cubes until hard, about 15 minutes. 3. Transfer to a food processor; process into coarse crumbs. 4. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12 skillet over medium heat. 5. Add crumbs; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 8–10 minutes. 6. Transfer crumbs to a bowl. 7. Wipe out skillet; heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. 8. Add chiles and toast, turning once, about 45 seconds. 9. Transfer to a plate; let cool. 10. Tear chiles into 1 pieces. 11. Reserve oil in skillet. 12. Set reserved skillet over medium heat and add anchovies; cook, breaking them apart with a wooden spoon, for 1 minute. 13. Add garlic and tomatoes; cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften and burst, about 10 minutes. 14. Mash tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. 15. Remove from heat and set aside. 16. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. 17. Add pasta; cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. 18. Drain, reserving 1⁄4 cup water. 19. Transfer pasta and water to reserved skillet of tomatoes over high heat. 20. Toss to combine; cook until sauce thickens, 1–2 minutes. 21. Transfer pasta to a platter; sprinkle with bread crumbs and chiles; drizzle with a little oil. 22. Enjoy! |
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