Pasta with ricotta, lemon, courgettes and pangrattato
Pangrattato is a perfect example of the genius Italian way to turn something so simple as bread into a delicious topping for pasta, salads or vegetables. It gives flavour and crunch at the same time. I always blitz older bread in the food processor into small crumbs and freeze them. Whenever I need a crunchy topping, I take them out of the freezer and make pangrattato.
Ingredients
- 160 g sourdough or rye bread, crumbled
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- salt for pasta, cooking water and taste
- 400 g linguine pasta
- 3 tbsp butter
- 400 g courgettes (baby marrows), julienned or spiralized
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced, halved and seeds removed preferably thin skin type
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 200 g homemade ricotta, crumbled
- black pepper, freshly milled
- 2 tbsp lemon olive oil optional
- some rosemary or borage flowers optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pan, add the breadcrumbs and season with salt and chili flakes. Fry the breadcrumbs until crisp before you stir in the garlic.
- Put the mixture onto a plate to cool.
- Cook the linguine pasta according to the instructions on the packet. I cook pasta in general 1 min less than the shortest cooking time.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter in the same pan wherein you roasted the bread. Fry the courgettes for 2 minutes on high heat.
- Then add the lemon pieces and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes together with the courgettes.
- Add the cooked pasta and mix with the courgettes and lemon pieces.
- Add the lemon juice and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Crumble the homemade ricotta (you can use shopbought one as well) over the pasta, sprinkle with the pangrattato (crisp bread crumbs) and the flowers, if you use them.
- Then drizzle some lemon olive oil over the mixture and enjoy!