PG-tested

Here's an even more spare, but delicious, take on cucina povera or "poverty cuisine" made with bread crumbs that Virginia Phillips wrote about for Food & Flavor last Thursday (post-gazette.com/food). Susan McKenna Grant writes that this "interesting dish" originated centuries ago in poor Southern Italy and doesn't even include tomatoes. She suggests serving it, when the pantry is bare, with "a crisp green salad and a glass of chilled white wine.

If you want more, I suggest a can of sardines with a little lemon juice squeezed over them. Ideally, you should make your own bread crumbs from an artisanal loaf." She suggests leftovers of a recipe for Sicilian-style bread elsewhere in the book.

To make your own bread crumbs, toast cubes of day-old bread on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven until completely dry -- 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and process to a fine meal.

Alternatively, you can roll the toasted bread cubes between two sheets of wax paper using a rolling pin.

• 1 pound spaghetti (can be whole wheat)
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Hot chili pepper flakes to taste
• 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Finely chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook the spaghetti until al dente.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a saute pan over moderate heat with the garlic and the chili flakes. Cook, stirring for a few minutes until the garlic begins to give off its scent but is not turning brown. Drain the spaghetti, pouring the hot water into your serving bowl. Add the pasta to the saute pan along with a small ladleful (scant 1/4 cup) of the hot pasta water and cook for another minute or two -- just until the water is absorbed. Discard the hot water from your serving bowl and turn the pasta mixture into it. Toss with the bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Garish with the parsley and serve immediately.

-- "Piano, Piano, Pieno:
Authentic Food From a Tuscan Farm" by Susan McKenna Grant