Spaghetti with garlic, chili, and lemon crumbs
A dinner made entirely from things you already own. Garlic and chili warmed in olive oil, pasta tossed until glossy, toasted crumbs on top for crunch.
- yield
- Serves 2
- active
- 25 min
- total
- 25 min
- oven
- not needed
Posted
Ingredients
Crumbs
Pasta
Method
- Bring 3 liters (3 quarts) of water to a boil with 1 tbsp kosher salt.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the breadcrumbs in 1 tbsp oil, stirring, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, tip them into a bowl, and stir in the lemon zest. Wipe out the pan.
- Cook the spaghetti 1 minute less than the package says.
- Meanwhile, warm the remaining 3 tbsp oil in the skillet over medium-low heat with the garlic, anchovies, and chili flakes. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is pale gold and the anchovies have dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes. If the garlic turns brown, start the garlic again: it will taste bitter.
- Scoop out a mug of pasta water, then drain. Add the pasta and about 120 ml (1/2 cup) of the water to the skillet. Toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce turns glossy and clings. Add more water if it looks dry.
- Off the heat, add the lemon juice and parsley. Taste for salt. Serve with the crumbs on top, not stirred in, so they stay crunchy.
Notes
- No anchovies: add a few chopped capers or olives with the garlic, or skip it. It is still dinner.
- The starchy pasta water is what turns oil into sauce. Do not drain it all away.
#!/usr/bin/env bash# pantry-pasta.sh: spaghetti, garlic, chili, lemon crumbs. serves 2.# requires: nothing you have to go out forboil water --liters 3 --salt 1tbsp & # start first. slowest process.toast breadcrumbs --oil 1tbsp --until golden # 3 to 4 min, keep stirringsalt add --pinch breadcrumbszest lemon >> breadcrumbsset-aside breadcrumbswait %1 # water is boilingcook spaghetti --minutes "$(( PACKAGE_TIME - 1 ))" &heat skillet --level medium-low --oil 3tbspadd garlic:4,sliced anchovy:4 chili-flakes:0.5tspwhile ! garlic --is pale-gold; do stir; sleep 20done[[ $(garlic --color) == brown ]] && { echo "bitter. redo garlic." >&2; exit 1; }reserve pasta-water --mugdrain spaghetti | toss --in skillet --with pasta-water:120ml --until glossysqueeze lemon --half; add parsleytaste && serve --top-with breadcrumbs # on top, not in. crunch is a feature.# The script is the joke. The ingredients and method are the recipe.