I love shows where people travel around the world and eat delicious or weird (or delicious-weird) stuff. That kind of programming combines two of my favorite things: traveling and eating. I mean, if there was a travel-eating show that also included a 10-minute segment in every episode where Colin Firth just beats the tar out of various baddies whilst looking dashing? Might as well just call it Amy’s Favorite Show Ever: Don’t Bother Watching Anything Else, I Know I Won’t.
Don’t worry, this dish isn’t anything “weird-delicious,” though its source is from one of my favorite show hosts! Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods was definitely on my regular TV show rotation, and I keep up with his Twitter updates — mainly because he tweets about some interesting-sounding (and looking) dishes he eats at various restaurants all over the world. The other day, he tweeted out a recipe for “chitarra with broccoli rabe and lemony bread crumbs.” And uh, that sounded delicious, despite my not knowing what “chitarra” is, other than that it sounds a lot like an Avatar character.
Chitarra, or spaghetti alla chitarra, is an egg pasta that from what I can tell with my amateur pasta knowledge (gained entirely from consuming a lot of pasta), is about the same thickness as spaghetti, but is square-shaped instead of round. In my head, I call it “yellow square spaghetti,” which I’m sure I should never utter out loud to anyone who is actually a pasta connoisseur.
But if you don’t want to bother with the chitarra, spaghetti will do just fine as a substitute. My version of this also uses broccolini instead of broccoli rabe because my grocery store doesn’t carry the latter. You will not be disappointed either way.
I love light pastas, and I especially love pastas that only rely on olive oil as the “sauce.” Something about the simplicity of tomato-less and cream-sauce-less pastas just speak to me. They say, “Yes, you can eat this while wearing a white shirt.” My kind of pasta. But don’t think that just because it is lacking in red sauce that this dish is lacking in flavor because I assure you that it is not. It’s garlicky, lemony, and surprisingly hearty thanks to the bitterness and “meatiness” of the broccolini. Buon appetito indeed.
And a buon appetito to you too, Mr. Firth.
Chitarra with Broccolini and Lemony Breadcrumbs
Adapted from Andrew Zimmern’s recipe
Serves: 3 – 4
Prep Time: 1 day for stale bread, 10 minutes day of.
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes (not including the time for the bread to become stale)
For the breadcrumb topping:
1/4 lb (125 g, or just two big handfuls) day-old Italian bread (I used ciabatta), torn into chunks
1/4 cup (25 g, or a handful) flat-leaf Italian parsley, stems removed
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
salt and pepper
For the pasta:
1/2 lb broccolini
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for tossing broccolini
1/2 lb chitarra or spaghetti
2 garlic cloves, sliced
juice of half a small lemon
pinch crushed red pepper
pinch Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
Make the breadcrumb topping:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Pulse the bread, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, and olive oil together in a food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs. Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 7 minutes and let cool.
Make the pasta:
Toss the broccolini with a drizzle of olive oil and salt in a bowl, then spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, moving the broccolini halfway through to ensure it evenly browns.
Let it cool enough to handle, then chop the broccolini into rough chunks. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, boil salted water and cook the chitarra until al dente, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, and drain the rest. Set the pasta aside.
Wipe out that same saucepan and heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. When it is shimmering, add in the garlic and crushed red pepper, stirring constantly for a minute. Add the pasta, broccolini, reserved cooking water, lemon juice, and two more tablespoons of olive oil and combine. Toss until the pasta is coated with the olive oil “sauce.” If the pasta looks a little too dry at this point, add some more olive oil and/or lemon juice and toss.
Plate and serve topped with the bread crumbs, some gratings of Parmesan cheese, and if you’re an olive oil fiend like me, another drizzle of your pepperiest olive oil.
