Pasta With Fried Peppers & Bread Crumbs

Manami's Note:

Pasta Con Peperoni Cruschi E Molica Fritta. The secret to making this hearty Basilicatan specialty is to fry the dried peppers to a delicate crisp. This recipe was first published in Saveur in issue #120.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1/4 lb country bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 8 peperoni cruschi di senise bell peppers or 8 guajillos bell peppers or 8 pasillas bell peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 4 anchovies, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb pasta, such as fusilli

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325˚F.
2. Bake bread cubes until hard, about 15 minutes.
3. Transfer to a food processor; process into coarse crumbs.
4. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat.
5. Add crumbs; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 8–10 minutes.
6. Transfer crumbs to a bowl.
7. Wipe out skillet; heat remaining oil over medium-high heat.
8. Add chiles and toast, turning once, about 45 seconds.
9. Transfer to a plate; let cool.
10. Tear chiles into 1" pieces.
11. Reserve oil in skillet.
12. Set reserved skillet over medium heat and add anchovies; cook, breaking them apart with a wooden spoon, for 1 minute.
13. Add garlic and tomatoes; cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften and burst, about 10 minutes.
14. Mash tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
15. Remove from heat and set aside.
16. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil.
17. Add pasta; cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.
18. Drain, reserving 1⁄4 cup water.
19. Transfer pasta and water to reserved skillet of tomatoes over high heat.
20. Toss to combine; cook until sauce thickens, 1–2 minutes.
21. Transfer pasta to a platter; sprinkle with bread crumbs and chiles; drizzle with a little oil.
22. Enjoy!