60 ml(¼cup)extra-virginolive
oil,plusextrafordrizzling
2 garliccloves,thinlysliced
4 saltedanchovyfillets
(seenote),cleaned
110 gm(¾cup)Gaetaolives
(seenote),rinsedandpitted
55 gm(¼cup)capers,rinsed
450 gmdriedpaccheri(seenote)
PANEGRATTUGIATOFRITTO
220 gm(about8 slices)dry
rusticbreadwithcrusts,
tornintobite-sizedpieces
60 ml(¼cup)extra-virgin
oliveoil
2 tspdriedoregano
orchoppedfresh
flat-leafparsley1 Forpanegrattugiatofritto,
preheatovento120°C.Toss
thebread,oliveoilandoregano
in a largebowluntilwell
combined.Spreadthebread
mixtureona rimmedoventray
andbakeuntilcrispand
completelydry(20-25minutes).
Removefromtheovenandallow
tocool.Transfertoa food
processorandpulseuntilbroken
downtothesizeofcoarse
coffeegrounds.Makes2 cups.
2 Heatoliveoilin a largefrying
panoverlowheat.Whentheoil
beginstoshimmer,addgarlic
andanchovies,andcookuntil
thegarlicbeginstoturngolden
andtheanchovieshavemelted
intotheoil(about2 minutes).
Addtheolivesandcapersand
cook,stirring,foranotherminute.
Turnofftheheatandletthe
ingredients bloom in the hot oil.PACCHERIALLACILENTANAPaccheriwithcapers,olives,
anchovies and fried breadcrumbs
SERVES4-6“ThefirsttimeI drovealongCilento’sTyrrhenianCoast,I was
astoundedbythenaturalspectacleoftheplace,”saysParla.
“Caperplantsclungtosheercliffsaroundoneturn,whilethenext
revealedoliveorchardsteeteringonimpossiblyverticalterraced
farmland.Cilento’sverdantbeautyis occasionallyinterruptedby
a tinyvillagewherefishermencasttheirnetsintosomeofItaly’s
mostpristinewaters,raisingwrigglinganchoviesfromthe
TyrrhenianSea.Thisdishis anhomagetoCampania’smost
unspoiledcoastline.Thepanegrattugiatofrittomakesmore
thanyouneedbutcaneasilybehalved,orstoredinanairtight
containeratroomtemperatureforupto2 days.‘Frying’ the
breadcrumbs in the oven helps them stay crisp.”3 Meanwhile,bringa large
saucepanofsaltedwatertoa
rollingboiloverhighheat.Add
thepaccheriandcookuntilal
dente(8-10minutes).Drain,
reservingpastawater,andadd
thepastatothepanwiththe
olivesandcapers,stirringto
coat.Addsomepastacooking
waterasneededtoloosenthe
sauce.Seasonwithsalt.Plate,
andsprinkleeachportionwith
thefriedseasonedbreadcrumbs
anddrizzlewitholiveoil.
NoteSaltedanchovies
areavailablefromselect
delicatessens.Substitute
anchoviesin oil.Gaetaolives
areavailablefromselect
delicatessens.I can’toverstate
theimportanceofusing
high-qualityolives.Withthe
south’ssimplerecipes,each
flavouris conspicuous;the
reasonsuchbasicrecipesare
sogoodis thattheyrelyon
ingredientsattheirpeak.In Italy,
it’snota luxurytohavea family
olivegroveandplentyofhome
cookshaveaccesstohand-
harvestedandnaturally
curedolives.Avoidcanned
orpre-slicedolives.If you
don’thavea goodItaliandeli
in yourneighbourhood,look
forpurveyorsofGreek,Turkish,
NorthAfricanorMiddleEastern
foods.If youcanonlyfind
seasonedolives,rinsethem
beforeusing,orcureyourown.
Paccheriis availablefromselect
delicatessens;substituterigatoni
or other tubular pasta.●Paccheriwith
capers,olives,
anchoviesand
fried breadcrumbs