
Calabrian-Style Pasta with Anchovies, Tomatoes and Toasted Breadcrumbs
- Makes4-6 servings
- Cook Time40 minutes
This flavor-packed, breadcrumb-topped pasta is our adaptation of a recipe learned from chef Andrea Roberto at Al Girone del Golosi in Cosenza, Italy. In Calabria, stroncatura—a robust and rough-textured, linguine-shaped pasta with an earthy brown hue that comes from whole or mixed grains, or from carob—is the traditional pasta choice for this dish. The simple sauce is so flavorful, regular semolina pasta works perfectly well but whole-wheat spaghetti or linguine is a closer approximation of stroncatura. If you cannot find oil-cured olives, canned water-packed black olives are a better substitute than Kalamata olives, which are too assertive and briny.
Don’t overprocess the bread. Pulse it—don’t run the machine continuously—until the pieces are broken down into a mixture of fine crumbs and pistachio-sized bits. Toasted, the larger pieces supply lots of texture to the dish.
Step 1
In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the bread, 1 garlic clove, 1 tablespoon of the parsley and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Pulse until evenly moistened and broken down into a mixture of coarse bits and finer crumbs, 5 to 7 pulses. Transfer to a 12-inch skillet; cook over medium, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate; reserve the skillet.
Step 2
Add the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to the boiling water; cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta; set aside. In the skillet over medium, combine the remaining ¼ cup oil and remaining 2 garlic cloves. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the anchovies and cook, mashing them with a wooden spoon, until they have completely broken down, about 1 minute.
Step 3
Remove and discard the garlic, then stir in the tomatoes and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered and stirring, until the tomatoes have fully softened and the mixture is jammy, about 8 minutes. Add the pasta, olives and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Cook, stirring and tossing, until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes; if needed, add more pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time. Off heat, taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with the breadcrumbs and remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

