Spaghetti with dried chilli and pangritata (from Jamie Oliver book)

original recipe and text from Jamie Oliver - The Return of The Naked Chef book

Pangritata is great, It's basically fried or toasted breadcrumbs in garlic oil. In Italy, pangritata was once used as a substitute for Parmesan, which some people couldn't afford. It gives a dish an excellent texture and crunch and, if made well, great flavour. 

Ingredients:

serves 4

455g/1lb dried spaghetti, the best you can get

6 tablespoon extra virgin oil

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

16 anchovy fillets (I didn't use thism substituet it with mushrooms)

juice of 2 lemons

2 small dried red chillies, crumbled

for the pangritata

8 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove of garlic, sliced

1 good handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked

200g/7oz fresh breadcrumbs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

First make the pangritata. Put the olive oil into a hot thick-bottomed pan. Add the garlic, thyme, and breadcrumbs; they will fry and begin to toast. Stir for a couple of minutes until the breadcrumbs are really crisp and golden. Seaon with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and drain on kitchen paper.

Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente. While it is cooking, put the oil and garlic in a pan and heat gently. As the garlic begins to soften, lay the anchovy fillets over the top. After a minute you will see them begin to melt. Squeeze in the lemon juice and sprinkle in the dried chillies. Toss in the drained spaghetti and coat it in the sauce. Taste a bit of pasta - it may need a little more lemon juice and a little extra seasoning. Serve straight away, sprinkled really generously with the pangritata. 

Vie's Result :

Vie's Notes: This is pretty much an easy yet delicious dish to make. It has this wonderful sensation of the crunchiness of the pangritata and in the other hand the chewy and moist from the pasta.