Tagliarini with red mullet, tomatoes, olives and pangrattato
Tagliarini is a ribbon pasta, similar to spaghetti or linguine. The deep-fried breadcrumbs add a satisfying crunch to this summery pasta dish for two.
Ingredients
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- 100g/3½oz stale bread, roughly chopped into coarse crumbs
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 8 taggiasca or small niçoise olives, pitted
- 10 datterini tomatoes, cut into quarters
- 200g/7oz fresh tagliarini
- 2 red mullet fillets
- 1 tsp finely chopped flatleaf parsley
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the sunflower oil in a deep-fat fryer to 160C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
Fry the breadcrumbs for 1 minute until golden-brown. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic, black olives and tomatoes and cook for 3–4 minutes or until the tomatoes break down.
Cook the tagliarini in a large pan of salted water according to the packet instructions.
Meanwhile, add the red mullet fillets to the tomatoes and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.
When the pasta is just al dente, remove from the water using tongs and add to the tomatoes.
Return the pan to a low heat and add a spoonful of the pasta water and the remaining olive oil. Toss the pasta with the other ingredients in the pan, breaking up the fish fillets.
Transfer to serving bowls and scatter over the pangrattato.