Pasta Di Pina

This is Italian pantry cooking at its most practical. Egg noodles cook directly in golden onion soup broth, absorbing all that savory flavor instead of getting drained and losing it down the sink. No separate pot of boiling water needed.

The toasted garlic bread crumbs are what give this simple dish its character. Garlic and fresh bread crumbs fried in olive oil until golden create a crunchy topping that’s a classic southern Italian trick, sometimes called “poor man’s parmesan." Of course, this recipe uses both the crumbs AND real parmesan, so you get crunch and cheese in every forkful.

Don’t drain the noodles after cooking. The starchy, onion-flavored broth clings to the pasta and acts as a light sauce when you toss everything together with parsley.

Chef Tips

• Stir the noodles frequently as they simmer. Cooking in a small amount of liquid means they’ll stick to the bottom if left alone.
• Toast the bread crumbs over medium heat and stir constantly. They go from golden to burnt in seconds, and burnt bread crumbs taste bitter.
• Use fresh bread crumbs, not dry packaged ones. Fresh crumbs toast up crunchier and have better texture. Pulse day-old bread in a food processor.
• Add the parmesan after removing from heat so it melts gently instead of clumping.

Variations

• Stir in a handful of halved cherry tomatoes with the parsley for color and a burst of acidity.
• Add anchovy fillets to the garlic and bread crumbs while frying for a deeper, salty umami punch.
• Toss in baby spinach or arugula at the very end; the residual heat wilts the greens just enough.