Pasta with Onions and Breadcrumbs

Pasta with onions and breadcrumbs is a simple and tasty dish from the Italian tradition, particularly from Southern Italy. Here’s how to prepare it:

Ingredients

• 320 g of pasta (spaghetti or bucatini work well)
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 100 g of breadcrumbs
• Extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• Chili pepper (optional)

Preparation

1. Start by heating a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the finely sliced onions and a pinch of salt, and let them soften slowly. If you like, you can add a piece of chili pepper to give a bit of spiciness to the dish.

2. Meanwhile, fry the breadcrumbs in another pan with a little oil until golden and crispy. Keep an eye on the breadcrumbs as they can burn easily. Once ready, set them aside.

3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente following the instructions on the package.

4. Drain the pasta, reserving some cooking water, and add it to the pan with the onions, mixing well to flavor it.

5. If the mixture is too dry, add a little of the reserved cooking water.

6. Serve the pasta on plates and sprinkle with plenty of fried breadcrumbs.

Trivia

The pasta with onions and breadcrumbs dish represents an example of cucina povera, where simple ingredients available in homes of the past were transformed into dishes rich in flavor and tradition. In many families, nothing was thrown away, not even stale bread, which became a precious resource to enrich dishes like in this case.