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It's the time of year when everyone's vowing to do something different. Fuck that! Watch too much TV, add things to your Pinterest board instead of actually doing things, make snide remarks about people who cut you off in traffic and eat things people say you shouldn't. Including carbs. Actually, eat ALL THE CARBS. I don't have anything against carbs. My general philosophy is to eat things that have been messed with as little as possible. So if I'm going to eat something that's already made and packaged, I want to eat something that's been processed less, if I can help it. So I usually buy non-wheat bread and pasta for home, and choose whole grains if it's an option when I'm eating out.
Accordingly, when I made today's All-Carb Dinner, I used kamut pasta. I did use white bread for the crumbs, but that's because I had some old sourdough bread that was given to me that I had to use up anyway. So I don't feel guilty, even though it was two kinds of carbs rolled up in delicious fat. And that's the way it should be! Eat good food, be full, and don't feel guilty unless you've done something horrible like poke kittens in the eye.
The All-Carb Dinner pasta dish I made tonight was Pasta con Aglio e Olio--pasta with garlic and oil. I had variations of this a few times while I was in Italy--let's face it, a vegan often gets simplest pasta on the menu by default. Some variations had tomatoes or parsley or chili flakes added. My extensive five minutes of googling tells me that adding the breadcrumbs makes this a Milanese version. (Don't be confused by the shallot and greens in my photo--they were for food styling only, because plain pasta makes for boring-ass photos.) In my opinion, it's the breadcrumbs that make the dish, although like many traditional homey foods, it's whatever version your mom/dad/gramma/grampa made for you that is truly authentic. For you cooking pleasure, a not-a-recipe follows. Vary it until you find your favourite, then tell your kids/your cats/the people who borrow your pepper mill that it's the only authentic version around.
A not-recipe for Pasta con Aglio e Olio
Add as many servings as you'd like of your favourite strand pasta to boiling water. Lower heat if it starts to boil over. While the pasta cooks, chop as much garlic as you'd like (I used four small cloves for one serving but that may be while I'm still single); and using the smallest holes on a metal grater, make crusty stale bread or lightly toasted fresh bread into as many crumbs as you can before you get tired. I used about a quarter cup to top one generous serving of pasta, but some recipes I saw called for a little over a third of a cup per serving. When the pasta is almost al dente, heat the oil in a frying pan. When hot, add the chopped garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, only until the garlic is white and fragrant. Add the breadcrumbs and fry for a few minutes to toast the crumbs. When the pasta is al dente, drain thoroughly and add to the pan, stirring to coat. Add chopped parsley or chili flakes if desired. Plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
