Pasta al pane

“Pasta with bread” is not a widely recognized traditional Italian dish, so it may refer to a specific home recipe or a little-known regional variant. However, I can provide you with a recipe that is inspired by the creativity of Italian cuisine, where stale bread is used as an ingredient. The following recipe is a simple pasta with toasted bread crumbs, based on the tradition of using stale bread in the kitchen, typical of many Italian regions.

Ingredients

• 320 g of pasta (e.g., spaghetti or linguine)
• 200 g of stale bread
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
• Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
• Pasta cooking water as needed

Preparation

1. Reduce the stale bread into crumbs, and if you have a mixer, you can use it to get uniform crumbs.
2. In a large pan, heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and add the crushed garlic cloves. Let them brown to flavor the oil, then remove them.
3. Add the bread crumbs to the pan and toast them until they become crispy and golden. If you like, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
5. Drain the pasta but save some of the cooking water.
6. Remove the bread crumbs from the pan (set aside) and in the same pan, add the pasta with a bit of the cooking water to toss and emulsify.
7. Serve the pasta on plates and sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs.
8. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil if desired.

This preparation is a demonstration of how in Italy, kitchen waste is avoided, giving new life to stale bread by transforming it into a crunchy component to enrich simple dishes. In some areas, this preparation might be personalized with the addition of anchovies, capers, or other flavors typical of the local cuisine.