Most of us think of bread crumbs as a coating for frying. But in Italian cooking, bread crumbs are also used as a main ingredient, as in this pasta dish. This recipe probably came about as a way to use up leftover stale bread—a humble inspiration for a fantastic dish. I love this dressing with orecchiette (“little ears”), but any small shape will do.

　　

Ingredients

4 main-course servings

　　Salt

　　1 pound dried orecchiette pasta or other small-shaped pasta, such as farfalle or penne

　　3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　2/3 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs

　　1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

　　1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

　　1 cup finely chopped prosciutto

　　1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

　　2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

　　

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the bread crumbs and 1/4 teaspoon each of sea salt and pepper. Stirring constantly, cook the bread crumbs until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Working quickly, drain the pasta and stir it into the toasted bread-crumb mixture in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the prosciutto and Parmesan cheese. Season the pasta with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl, garnish with the parsley, and serve.

　　Reprinted with permission from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2005 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.