A few nights ago I made this recipe from Mark Bitten of the New York Times:
Spaghetti with Broccoli Rabe, Toasted Garlic and Bread Crumbs
It was very good and the family enjoyed a dinner with Broccoli Rabe in it (astounding!).
Well, tonight I had some arugula to use up from my weekly CSA farm basket from Amy’s Farm. So I decided I liked the garlicky breadcrumbs so much, I’d kind of use that in a pasta dish and wing it.
I served cod fried in olive oil in my cast iron skillet that we seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper at the table. That was fine. Mild, white fish. But the majority of the dinner effort was the pasta and vegetables.
8 oz of whole wheat fettucini
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and slivered
6 cups raw arugula, packed
1 cup plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 generous cup of scallions, chopped
1 generous cup of parsley, chopped
1/2 cup of marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1 1/2 cups homemade bread crumbs
1/2 cup olive oil
Shave parmesano reggiano cheese
Boil water to prepare for fettucini.
In the meantime, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook over medium heat until browned and crisp. Remove from oil.
Put breadcrumbs in the pan, stirring in the oil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and browned. Remove from the pan.
About this time the pasta should go into the water.
In the skillet, heat more oil (about 1/4 cup). Add tomatoes. Stir for about 1 or 2 minutes. Add arugula and cover with a lid so that the steam cooks it down a bit. Remove lid, stir until arugula is beginning to wilt. Add parsley, arichokes and green onions. Stir, lower heat, and cover to keep warm.
What pasta is done, reserve 1/4 cup liquid and drain the pasta. Place back in pasta pot, add the vegetable mixture. Stir. Add the reserved liquid. Stir. Top with garlic and breadcrumbs.
Serve and top with cheese.
Serves 4.
OK, I know this was good because hubby had seconds. The breadcrumbs are all crispy and garlicky and it really adds something to the pasta dish. I think these breadcrumbs would be good on salad too.
To make the breadcrumbs I used Trader Joe’s Tuscan Pane bread (an Italian style loaf) and toasted a couple of slices and then rough chopped them with my chef’s knife. You could put them in a food processor and roughly process them. You want little cubes about 1/8 inch in size. I let them sit out and get stale and hard during the day before I use them for dinner.
