Winter Herb Pasta with Garlicky Bread Crumbs
Took my sweet time getting out of bed today. Hours after Jared had braved the dark, rainy morning I finally emerged from the bedroom, doing my best vintage monster shuffle. (You know, dragging the feet, groaning. I blame last night’s airing of The Mummy with Boris Karloff…)
First things first, I grabbed my phone off the kitchen table (because someone might be inviting me to do something really cool at 10:00 AM on a Sunday, right? Sigh.) and discovered this text message waiting:
Hey. I bookmarked a recipe in a mag in the bathroom. Might be a good day for it. Cold and rainy. Winter herbs with bucatini pasta. Let me know and I’ll get ingredients.
Well, well Metzner. The kid just might be on to something. I always say inspiration strikes most brilliant in the bathroom…
I texted him the green light, and when he got home from work we threw this simple and super amazing pasta dish together in just about a half an hour.
Sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, a little olive oil. Nothing schmancy, but the results are impressive. I got to use a little trick I saw on a cooking show last weekend, too: to get fast, fresh bread crumbs, just throw a couple cups of ripped up baguette into your food processor and give it a whirl.
For some reason I’ve never made my own bread crumbs like this before, but now I don’t think I can go back. A short toast in a buttery, garlicky, olive oil-slicked skillet and you’re rewarded with the tastiest bread crumbs, oh, maybe EVER.
A warning: only make this when you have at least four people on hand. Otherwise you and your dude or lady will not be able to resist finishing every last bite yourselves. Oof!
Winter Herb Pasta with Garlicky Bread Crumbs
From: Gourmet, December 2007
2 Tbs unsalted butter
5 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbs set aside
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs (use a fresh baguette if you can get your hands on one.)
1 lb dry bucatini (it’s like spaghetti, only rounder. Use spaghetti if you can’t find this kind.)
2 tsp fresh sage, chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian (flat) parsley, chopped
1. Heat a large pot of salted water for the pasta.
2. Heat the butter and 1 Tbs olive oil in a deep pan over medium heat until the butter has melted in fully and the foam has died down. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, until just golden. Add the bread crumbs and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden– about 5 – 8 minutes. Put the bread crumbs aside in a bowl, but save the oiled pan for later.
3. When the pot of water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, or about 10 minutes. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
4. Add the rest of the olive oil to the pan you cooked the bread crumbs in and heat over medium until it starts to shimmer. Add the sage, rosemary and thyme and stir as they cook, for just about 2 minutes.
5. Add the pasta and ½ cp of the reserved cooking water to the pan. Add the parsley and toss well. The pasta should be evenly glistening, not dry, so add extra water if it needs it.
6. Remove the pasta from the heat and serve topped with bread crumbs.
Serves 4.
