Pangrattato is great. It’s basically fried or toasted breadcrumbs in garlic oil. In Italy, pangrattato was once used as a substitute for Parmesan, which some people couldn’t afford. It gives a dish an excellent texture and crunch and, if made well, great flavour.

Ingredients

• 450 g dried spaghetti
• 2 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• 16 anchovy fillets
• 2 lemons
• 2 small dried red chillies
• PANGRATTATO
• olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 good handful of fresh thyme
• 200 g fresh breadcrumbs

Method

1. First make the pangrattato. Put 6 tablespoons of oil into a hot thick-bottomed pan.
2. Peel, slice and add the garlic, strip in the thyme leaves and breadcrumbs; they will fry and begin to toast. Stir for a couple of minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are really crisp and golden. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper and drain on kitchen paper.
3. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. While it is cooking, peel and finely chop the garlic, then heat gently in a pan with 4 tablespoons of oil.
4. As the garlic begins to soften, lay the anchovy fillets over the top. After a minute you will see them begin to melt.
5. Squeeze in the lemon juice and crumble in the dried chillies.
6. Drain the spaghetti and throw it into the sauce. Taste a bit of pasta – it may need a little more lemon juice and a little extra seasoning. Serve straight away, sprinkled really generously with the pangrattato.