Crumbs

My outdoor birds look forward to their morning feeding. Along with the usual seeds, peanuts and berries, they are very animated when I toss out some crumbled corn chips or bread crusts. I suspect they keep an ever-watchful eye on my driveway because as soon as I step outside they are gathering in the nearest tree anxiously chirping away. I just turn my back and they swoop down to eat. If my crows aren’t nearby, I call them and within a minute they’ve flown to my walnut tree waiting to eat. I’m sure the neighbors think I’m nuts but it gives me great pleasure to be so in tune with this little segment of nature.

The birds don’t get all the bread though. In my waste-not/want-not attitude, I try and save and reuse as much as possible. This even applies to stale bread. Stale pieces of a French baguette or Italian bread can be easily transformed into fresh breadcrumbs that can be stored in the freezer. It might sound a bit counterintuitive that stale bread becomes fresh crumbs but a quick pulse in a food processor does just that!

Aside from breadcrumbs as a coating for chicken or fish, I also like to fry them up in a little oil or butter with some chopped garlic as a delicious topping for roasted cauliflower. Sometimes I even toss them on a salad instead of croutons to add a bit of crunch. One of my favorite pasta recipes is spaghetti topped with toasted breadcrumbs, flavored with garlic and anchovies. Known as Pasta Acciughe e Mollica, this specialty of Puglia, Callabria and Sicily is inexpensive, easy and delicious.

To make breadcrumbs, it’s important to use dry, stale bread. If you use fresh bread it will become gummy and ball up when you try to process it into crumbs. You can leave your bread unwrapped on the counter if it isn’t stale enough or bake slices in an oven at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes to dry it out. To make the breadcrumbs, cut your stale bread into 1-inch cubes then pulse in a food processor until they are finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, you can crumb the bread by hand using a course hand-held grater. Don’t cube the bread first if you’re using the grater. Crusts on/crusts removed, it’s your choice.

I store plain breadcrumbs in a Ziploc bag in my freezer. If you’re a fan of Italian Style Breadcrumbs, you can add ½ teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder and dried oregano or basil to each cup of breadcrumbs for an Italian flavor burst.

SPAGHETTI with BREADCRUMBS

1 box (1 pound) spaghetti
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more for serving)
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 to 8 anchovy fillets, drained (freeze the rest for later use)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Black pepper, for serving

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the spaghetti.

In a small skillet heat 1 tablespoon of oil and the butter on low heat. Add the breadcrumbs and toast about 5 minutes until golden, stirring frequently. Set aside.

Begin cooking the spaghetti per the instructions on the box, reserving 1 cup of pasta water when done.

In a large pan, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat. Add the garlic and heat until the garlic turns a light brown. Be careful not to scorch the garlic as it will become bitter. Add the anchovies and cook until the anchovies dissolve into the oil. A wooden spoon helps to gently crush the anchovies into the garlicky oil. This will only take about a minute. Stir in the crushed red pepper and reserved cup of pasta water. This is your deliciously simple pasta sauce.

When the spaghetti is done to al dente perfection, drain it and add to the pan, tossing to coat all the spaghetti with the sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the toasted breadcrumbs and a good sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper.

You can also add some grated lemon zest or chopped parsley if you have some on hand.