Pasta alla San Gennaro: Totò’s pasta with bread crumbs and anchovies, a classic of Italian cuisine like the Pasta all’assassina from Puglia, or the Spaghetti alla Nerano from Lazio. Today we prepare one of the traditional dishes of Neapolitan cuisine: spaghetti alla San Gennaro or pasta alla Gennaro. A dish as famous as the Genovese, the white ragù with onions or the traditional Neapolitan Pastiera. It was included in a cookbook written by Liliana De Curtis, daughter of Antonio (known as Totò), prince of Neapolitan comedy, and it seems it was one of his favorite first courses; that’s why it is mentioned several times in his films. Tradition says that spaghetti alla Gennaro were created mainly to honor the Patron Saint of Naples and they therefore take their name from him. In our family we adore pasta, which is a staple at our table, as it is for many Italians. We love quick, easy and economical first courses, whose sauce is ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta, and pasta alla Gennaro is perfect because it is simple and inexpensive. Although it is made with humble ingredients, such as anchovies, bread crumbs, garlic and cherry tomatoes, this is a fragrant recipe with oregano and basil — simple yet delicious! Let’s go to the kitchen to discover the original recipe for pasta alla Gennaro, but first I invite you to take a look at our collection of Quick, easy and economical first courses and remember that if you want to stay updated on all the blog’s new recipes, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients to make pasta alla Gennaro
- 13 oz pasta (I use thick spaghettoni)
- 1.75 cups cherry tomatoes
- 3 fillets anchovy fillets (salt-cured) (or packed in oil)
- 1 cup bread crumbs (from stale bread)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch garlic
- to taste dried oregano
- to taste basil
Tools
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Pot
Preparation of pasta alla Gennaro
To make pasta alla Gennaro, bring a large pot full of water to a boil and season with salt. While the water is coming to a boil, place the desalinated anchovy fillets in the frying pan, add a drizzle of oil and let them melt; only then add the cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved.
Salt lightly, but do not overdo it because of the anchovies, and cook until the cherry tomatoes are soft. Sprinkle with oregano and, if needed, add a very small amount of water during cooking.
Heat a frying pan with a little oil and a pinch of garlic, add the stale bread crumbs and let them toast, stirring often. Set aside.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it al dente, add it to the cherry tomatoes together with a little cooking water, toss to combine and when a lovely creamy sauce forms on the bottom of the pan, plate and sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs.
The dish is ready to be enjoyed.
Want to discover more recipes for delicious first courses? Check here:
–Baked pasta with eggplant sauce;
–Pasta with zucchini and ricotta cream;
Notes
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