St Joseph's Pasta ~ Spaghetti with Anchovies and Breadcrumbs
St Joseph’s Pasta is a simple but delicious combination of spaghetti with toasted breadcrumbs, anchovies, capers, olives, garlic and parsley. Affordable, easy to make and ready in less than thirty minutes, this dish is most often made on March 19th to honor the feast day of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of Sicily.
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ½ cup drained capers (about 3 ounces or 1–5.3 ounce jar, drained)
- ½ cup pitted, lightly chopped black, oil-cured olives
- 1 (2-ounce) tin anchovies in olive oil including the oil
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic (use more or less, as desired)
- ⅓ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
- 2 cups plain, fine breadcrumbs
- Pinch ground black pepper
- 1 pound spaghetti or other long pasta (no salt in pasta water)
Instructions
- Prep and gather all ingredients according to specifications above. Put a large pot of water on to boil.(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)
- Combine ½ cup olive oil, capers, olives, anchovies and anchovy oil, garlic, half the parsley and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium low heat and cook until the anchovies have dissolved and the garlic has lightly browned and become fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. (Break up the anchovies with a wooden spoon, if necessary, to help them dissolve.)½ cup drained capers, ½ cup pitted, lightly chopped black, oil-cured olives, 1 (2-ounce) tin anchovies in olive oil, 2 Tbsp minced garlic, ⅓ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley,, ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- Then, add the breadcrumbs and black pepper to the skillet and stir well to combine. Add the remaining ¼ cup olive oil if the mixture seems excessively dry. Stir until the mixture becomes crumbly; it should have the consistency of wet sand. Cook until the breadcrumbs are toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes.2 cups plain, fine breadcrumbs, Pinch ground black pepper
- Turn the heat off and remove about half the breadcrumb mixture and set it aside.
- Meanwhile, once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook it until al dente, according to the package instructions. (Note: No salt is needed in the pasta water since there is already so much salt in the anchovies, capers and olives. Also, this is not a traditional pasta sauce in which the pasta will finish cooking. As such, cook the pasta until a full al dente in the boiling water before combining it with the breadcrumb mixture.)1 pound spaghetti
- Once the pasta is al dente, transfer it to the skillet with the breadcrumbs and increase the heat to medium, mainly to cook off any moisture. Add only a small amount of pasta water if needed to help coat the spaghetti with the breadcrumb mixture (¼ cup at the most).
- Once the spaghetti has been well-coated and tossed with the breadcrumbs, turn off the heat and mix in the remaining chopped parsley.
- Transfer to a serving platter, top with a bit of the reserved breadcrumbs and serve immediately. Serve the remaining breadcrumb mixture on the side for each person to top off their individual plates. If desired, drizzle a bit of extra-virgin olive oil on the finished pasta. Buon Appetito!
Video
Notes
- Since there are so many very salty ingredients in this dish (anchovies, capers and olives), no salt is needed in the pasta water or added to the dish, in general.
- With most other pastas that are more sauce-based, the recommendation is to undercook the pasta a bit in the boiling water so that it can finish cooking in the sauce. That is not the case with this recipe. The pasta should be cooked to a proper al dente BEFORE being added to the skillet with the breadcrumb mixture.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat them, covered, in a small skillet over medium low heat with a little bit of water until heated through.
