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    Home » Pasta

    St. Joseph’s Spaghetti (Spaghetti di San Giuseppe)

    Published: Mar 19, 2021 · Modified: Mar 15, 2022 by Natalie · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    St. Joseph’s Spaghetti (Spaghetti di San Giuseppe, Sawdust Pasta or Carpenter’s Pasta), is pasta coated with toasted breadcrumbs, resembling sawdust in honor of St. Joseph. This dish is traditionally served on March 19th or Christmas Eve, but can be enjoyed year-round.

    St. Joseph spaghetti on a platter.

    This is the type of food I grew up on and we didn’t have to wait for March 19th to enjoy it. My Italian aunt and uncle would whip this up in minutes. Although it’s considered “peasant food'' because the ingredients are inexpensive items that you have in your pantry, I think this kind of food makes the most delicious meals, and being Italian and Peruvian, we served it a lot. Don’t confuse the term peasant food and cheap food. It just means you can create tasty dishes using simple ingredients, and this is an example of that.

    The best way to experience this dish is to make your own breadcrumbs from leftover bread. Because my family either made their own bread or bought fresh bread from a bakery, it would start to turn hard if not used in a few days. Remember, we don’t use preservatives to make our own bread so it would start to harden after a day or two.

    Toasted homemade breadcrumbs.

    Piles of leftover pieces of bread would be placed in a big bowl where it would dry up. I wrote about that here. You can absolutely use fine breadcrumbs or panko. See the notes on the recipe for adjustments.

    Spaghetti surrounded with toasted breadcrumbs on a round platter.

    You’ll use quite a bit of extra virgin olive oil for this dish but that’s what makes it delicious. The garlic is sautéed in the oil which also includes a pinch of crushed red pepper to add a little zing.

    There are a few more ingredients you can add that will make it go from rags to riches. My uncle Tony would add anchovies and we never noticed them because they would melt into the sauce. The anchovies do give it that extra something that makes this dish delicious. 

    Don’t think you’d like anchovies? If you’ve ever used Worcestershire sauce to make your recipe have flavor, then you’ve had anchovies. Make the leap and give it a try to experience how the recipe was intended to taste. You won’t even know they’re there but you’ll know if they’re not.

    Pine nuts, garlic and parsley sautéed in a skillet.

    You can also add some chopped pine nuts if you happen to have some on-hand. It’s an expensive item, but I buy it in bulk and use it to make my pestos. Life is too short for mediocre food, right? You can substitute some chopped walnuts if you like or just leave out the nuts.

    Pasta water, salt and pepper are added to the garlic oil. Add what you like to make it taste good. After you combine the pasta with the sauce, transfer it into a bowl then top with the golden toasted breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs will stay crisp for only so long. I mean, bread mixed with sauce - you get it, right? For that reason, I don’t toss until I’m ready to serve or I plate the pasta and top it off with the crumbs.

    Angled view of pasta on a platter.

    Tools you’ll need to make St. Joseph’s Spaghetti:

    • Big pot for boiling pasta
    • Tongs
    • Saute pan
    • Knife
    • Cutting board
    • Measuring cup

    Like pasta? Try:

    • Angel hair with sautéed tomatoes
    • Sausage pasta bake with mozzarella
    • Simply delicious spinach and cheese pasta salad
    • Spaghetti with garlic butter and cheese
    • Baked rigatoni with three cheeses
    • American chop suey
    • Creamy fettuccine with peas and ham

    Life is too short for mediocre food.

    Have you seen these?

    • CHOCOLATE GANACHE PEANUT BUTTER BARS
    • SIMPLE DELICIOUS STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRISP
    • QUICK SIMPLE SAUTEED BROCCOLI WITH GARLIC
    • SIMPLE PERUVIAN CUCUMBER SALAD WITH LIME
    St. Joseph spaghetti on a platter.

    St. Joseph’s Spaghetti

    PRINT PIN
    St. Joseph’s Spaghetti (Spaghetti di San Giuseppe, Sawdust Pasta or Carpenter’s Pasta), is pasta coated with toasted breadcrumbs, resembling sawdust in honor of St. Joseph. This dish is traditionally served on March 19th or Christmas Eve, but can be enjoyed year-round.
    Serves 4 - 6.
    Course: Main Course, Pasta
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: Pasta, St. Joseph's Spaghetti
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Author: Natalie Gregory

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs can use homemade, fine or panko* See Notes
    • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil divided
    • 8 garlic cloves minced
    • 2 ounces anchovies finely chopped**
    • 3 tablespoons pine nuts roughly chopped***
    • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
    • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
    • Kosher salt
    • Pepper
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    Instructions

    • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until it’s al dente.

    While the pasta is cooking:

    • Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and add the breadcrumbs. Cook, stirring often, to coat the breadcrumbs with the oil. Sprinkle in a little salt. Continue until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove from heat and transfer crumbs into a bowl and set aside. Wipe skillet clean.
    • Add the ½ cup of olive oil into the skillet and add the garlic. Give it a quick stir and cook until just fragrant and not browned. Add the crushed red pepper.
    • Stir in anchovies. They will disappear into the sauce and it gives great flavor.
    • Add in pine nuts and stir. Stir in chopped parsley. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper.
    • When pasta is cooked to al dente, drain, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water.
    • Add the pasta into the skillet and stir to coat. Add about ½ cup of the pasta water to create a sauce. You can add more to your liking.
    • Plate the pasta onto a large platter and sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs around the edge. Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. I don't toss it all together because I don’t want the breadcrumbs to soften. When serving, give it a quick toss or serve the pasta and top with crumbs.

    Notes

    *Of course, homemade is best but you absolutely can use store-bought. Just use unseasoned. If using homemade, I would use about 2 cups since it’s much coarser in texture. If you use panko, you may want to use 1 ½ cups. 
    To make homemade crumbs:
    2 or 3 slices of crusty bread
    Process the bread in a food processor to make coarse breadcrumbs. You should have about 3 cups.
    **Anchovies give a nice taste to this dish. It isn't St. Joseph's spaghetti without anchovies. Be adventurous and try it.
    ***You can substitute walnuts or leave out nuts entirely.
    Did you make this recipe? Tag @thegeneticchef and use #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!

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    Natalie

    I'm Natalie a.k.a The Genetic Chef. Here you will find from scratch family recipes coupled with humor, helpful tips, and product recommendations.

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