Pasta mollicata — Italy

Pasta mollicata — also called pasta ammuddicata or pasta con la mollica — is a dressed pasta in which toasted breadcrumbs, mollica in Italian, take the place that grated cheese would usually hold. The crumbs are browned separately in olive oil until deep gold and crisp, then piled generously over the finished pasta so every forkful carries some of their crunch. The dish is reported from several regions of southern Italy, principally Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily, where it is described as a frugal, so-called poor dish, one that needs no costly ingredients and could be put together from stale bread, oil and whatever aromatics were on hand. That background ties it to household kitchens where dairy was scarce or expensive and bread was never thrown away. To prepare it, stale bread is grated or crumbled and toasted in a pan with olive oil until it turns golden and crisp, then set aside. In the same pan, garlic and chili flakes are softened in more oil, sometimes with a few anchovy fillets melted in, and depending on the version a little tomato and a splash of red wine are added to build a light sauce. Long pasta such as bucatini or the thicker, hand-rolled ferretti is boiled, drained, and tossed through the sauce before the toasted crumbs are scattered over the top. Households differ on several points: some add tomato for a redder sauce, others keep it plain with just garlic, oil and chili; anchovies appear in some versions and not others; the wine splash is optional; and the shape of pasta used shifts from one town to the next. What stays constant is the crumb topping itself, added at the last moment so it keeps its crunch rather than softening into the sauce.