Pappardelle with breadcrumbs
Pappardelle with peas and pangrattato—that certainly sounds deliciously Italian. And it is, but it sounds much better than it is. Pangrattato means ground bread. In Italy, they also use it to mean Parmesan cheese for the poor.
Ingredients · Servings 4
- 300g pappardelle
- 100 gr ricotta
- 100 g bacon strips
- 100 gr brood
- 150 g peas (fresh or frozen)
- 2 lemons
- 35 g butter
- 2-3 sprigs of basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method · 20 min
- Cook the pappardelle in plenty of salted water.
- Cut the crusts off the bread and chop into coarse pieces. Fry the bacon strips until crispy and brown in a dry frying pan (do not clean the pan; you will use the bacon fat to fry the breadcrumbs until crispy). Remove from the pan and place them, along with the bread, in the food processor attachment of the immersion blender and chop into fine breadcrumbs. Melt the butter in the frying pan and fry the breadcrumbs until nice and crispy. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook the peas for 4-5 minutes in salted water. I used fresh ones, but you can also use frozen peas. These are ready even faster.
- Season the ricotta with salt, pepper, and the zest of 1 lemon.
- Drain the pappardelle (reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking water), and drain the peas. Put both into the frying pan and toss well. Add the ricotta and pour in the reserved cooking water. Mix well again and reheat everything for about 2-3 minutes.
- Divide among the plates. Grate the second lemon. Garnish with the pangrattato (breadcrumbs), fresh basil leaves, and lemon zest.
