Montepulciano and Pici Alla Briciole Or Pasta with Toasted Breadcrumbs

“Refill the glass that is empty..empty the glass that is filled..never leave a glass filled..never leave a glass empty!”

(Templan)

One of the favorite dishes that we discovered while in Montepulciano was a simple pasta dish known as Pici alla briciole. Pici is the typical pasta made in this region while briciole are bread crumbs. We discovered this dish and got right to the kitchen at one of our favorite stops- Villa Nottola- and prepared and then dined on Pici alla briciole with some wine referred to as Super Tuscan..but always from Montepulciano.

If you want to try a staycation and turn your kitchen into a taste of Montepulciano..grab a bottle of wine from Montepulciano and whip up some of this pici alla briciole..and World pasta Day is only a month away..October 25, 2014..the perfect dish for this day as well…..

Pici alla Briciole

(If you can’t find pici pasta, regular spaghetti will do)

1 lb of day old bread

1 onion or 2 leeks or 2 scallions

small handful of fresh parsley leaves chopped

1 clove of garlic minced

extra virgin olive oil

! lb of pasta (pici or spaghetti) cooked till al dente)

Place day old crusty bread in food processor till reduced to bread crumbs. Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in saute pan with chopped garlic and onion, saute for 1 minute , add in 1/4 cup Montepulciano, add in bread crumbs to toast. When bread crumbs are toasted, add in chopped parsley and saute. Cook pasta till al dente and place in saute pan with bread crumb mixture place on low heat and toss. Serve with pecorino cheese and fresh parsley.

*See you at

Cathedral Village in Pennsylvania

*For those in Lancaster/ York Pennsylvania I will be doing a segment on Tailgating on FOX Channel 43 Morning News on September 26th at 7:40 AM

*Mercer County Italian American Festival http://www.italianamericanfestival.com/

For event listing go to http://www.italianamericanfestival.com/culture.cfm

Fri. Sept 26th, 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM & Sat. Sept 27th, 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM, Mercer County Park,

1638 Old Trenton Road, book signing and sampling, in the Cultural Theater located in the

Heritage Pavilion on the festival grounds

*Tues. Oct 7th, 6 PM to 8 PM, Free Library of Philadephia – Andorra Branch, 705 E Cathedral Road, Philadelphia, PA 19128,

book signing & sampling

Free Library of Philadelphia – Andorra Branch http://libwww.freelibrary.org/branches/branch.cfm?loc=AND

– See more at: http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2/#sthash.ZTCixROM.dpuf

For more recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions-2nd edition