Week 12, Recipe 1: Quick Pasta with Breadcrumbs, Sardines & Capers

I know I've been slacking!  My bad!  Recipe courtesy of the New York Times

Salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs, ideally made from stale bread
1 onion, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound long pasta, like perciatelli
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 cans sardines packed in extra virgin olive oil (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish.


1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put half the oil (2 tablespoons) in a medium skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, less than 5 minutes, and then remove. Add the remaining oil and the onion to the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until just tender; drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Turn the heat under the onions to medium-high and add the lemon zest, capers and sardines; cook, stirring occasionally, until just heated through, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the pasta to the sardine mixture and toss well to combine. Add the parsley, most of the bread crumbs and some reserved water, if necessary, to moisten. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnishing with more parsley and bread crumbs.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Results: What a welcome back from my kitchen to me!!  Thank you VERY much, kitchen!!  This was DELICIOUS!!  I didn't have parsley so I just skipped that.  I also used angel hair pasta and subbed shallots for onion.  Toasting the breadcrumbs?  Very necessary.  Also very quick.  This was sooo good!  :)  If you're scared of the sardines, don't be.  Even though I like sardines, if you like fish of any kind, you should be okay.  MMMM!