The Rapture Skipped Me (so I ate) Spaghetti with Anchovies and Bread Crumbs (Spaghetti con Acciughe e Mollica)

The rapture never came, and boy am I relieved because we all know that had the day of reckoning really come I'd be smelling in the sulfur and brimstone. I'm not a bad person all the time, but on a daily basis I have fits of bitch that just take over. I blame most of these fits on my commute and the asshole drivers that I am faced to deal with for at least two hours every week day. 

Or, like when you are at the grocery store, at check out, and you spend a few moments deciding which lane will move the fastest - and then you realize that you picked the lane where the check out person is incapable of doing more than one motor function at a time and doesn't give two shits about the fact that you want to get out of the store because they are going to be there all day anyway so why shouldn't you.  And who pays by check at the grocery store...why is the person in front of you paying by check. And if you can't decide if you want paper or plastic I will most likely yell at you for not bringing your own God Damn Bag, don't you care about this spinning circle you live on called EARTH.

But, then there are the times when I should be calm like in yoga, and I spend the entire class wondering why the Indian girl in front of me sucks so bad at yoga. I know wrong wrong wrong, but when an Indian person comes into class I prepare myself to be schooled in all yoga postures and I'm floored when the person just outright sucks at yoga. I actually wanted to tell her to get to the back of the class if she couldn't balance on one leg because she was throwing me off.

But, then I don't feel too bad about this thought because I came home from class last time and our neighbor Vibs who is Indian was over and I asked if that was an inappropriate thought to have about the Indian girl in front of me and his immediate response was..

"No, she's Pakistani"

I was dying after that.

Spaghetti with Anchovies and Bread Crumbs (Spaghetti con Acciughe e Mollica)

6 salt-packed anchovies or 12 best-quality anchovy fillets in olive oil (see Notes), divided

1 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 large garlic cloves, minced

1 or 2 small fresh or dried hot red chiles such as peperoncini or Thai, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

3/4 cup Toasted Fresh Bread Crumbs, divided

If using salt-packed anchovies, rinse them under cold water. With your fingers, pry them open along the back and lift out backbone to yield 2 fillets. Rinse fillets again to remove any fine bones; pat dry on paper towels. If using anchovy fillets in olive oil, lift out of jar or tin, leaving oil behind (no need to rinse oil-packed fillets). Finely chop 6 fillets; set aside. Cut remaining 6 fillets into 4 or 5 pieces each; set aside. 

In an 8-qt. pot, bring 5 qts. well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender to the bite, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put olive oil, garlic, finely chopped anchovies, and chiles in a deep 12-in. frying pan (with at least 2-in. sides) or wide pot and cook over low heat, stirring, until anchovies dissolve. Stir in parsley and remaining anchovies; turn off heat.

When pasta is almost done, set aside 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain pasta and transfer to pan of anchovy sauce. Toss quickly until all the strands are well coated. Add some reserved cooking water if pasta seems dry. Set aside 2 tbsp. bread crumbs, then add remainder to pasta and toss again.

Divide pasta among 8 warm bowls and sprinkle each serving with some reserved bread crumbs. Serve immediately.

The number of go backs that Chris has on a certain dish usually helps me rate the recipe. Chris went back for four servings of this. He really liked it.

Rating = Damn Good