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.The recipe can easily be halved.
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 give 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
NOTE 1: 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 breadProcess the bread in a food processor to make coarse breadcrumbs. You should have about 3 cups.NOTE 2: Honestly, I add a LOT of garlic. I use large cloves.NOTE 3: Anchovies give a nice taste to this dish. It isn't St. Joseph's spaghetti without anchovies. Be adventurous and try it.NOTE 4: You can substitute walnuts or leave out nuts entirely.NOTE 5: Be careful with the salt because this dish gets salt from the anchovies and it's pronounced more from the spiciness of the crushed red pepper.