Our pangrattato recipe for Italian crispy breadcrumbs with parsley, parmesan and lemon zest will make you a quick and easy condiment that’s packed with texture and flavour: crunch courtesy of fried breadcrumbs, freshness thanks to the parsley, umami from the parmesan, and citrus notes from the lemon zest. Sprinkle it on pastas, vegetables, salads, soups, and more.
This pangrattato recipe makes a condiment of crunchy breadcrumbs, chopped fresh parsley, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and lemon zest, which most Italians call mollica di pane in Italy. It’s an essential ingredient in this spaghetti pangrattato recipe but, like its cousin gremolata, it’s fantastic sprinkled on pastas, especially long pastas like spaghetti, bucatini and linguine, and simple pasta dishes with little more than olive oil, making for an easy mid-week meal.
Pangrattato can also be used as you’d use homemade croutons or Japanese furikake seasoning to add texture and flavour to dishes. You can sprinkle pangrattato onto soups (especially hearty soups that have body, such as this creamy pumpkin soup), shower it onto vegetables and use it as a base for veggies (as I do with this green beans recipe), and sprinkle it onto salads (best done at the last minute).
This pangrattato recipe is nothing if not versatile. I love to get creative with pangrattato in the same way that I do with dukkah, the Middle Eastern nut, seed and spice condiment. I look at the crispy breadcrumbs as the base, then swap out the parsley for whatever herbs I have on hand, use minced garlic instead of zest, and even add nuts and spices as I do with dukkah.
Pangrattato Recipe for Italian Crispy Breadcrumbs with Parsley, Parmesan and Lemon Zest
Pangrattato or pangrattita is referred to as a ‘poor man’s parmesan’ in Italy, as it originated in the historically poorer Southern Italian regions of Calabria and Sicily, where it was used in place of Parmigiano, or parmesan cheese as it’s known in the English speaking world.
Pangrattato is more commonly called mollica di pane in Italy, especially in Southern Italy, where it’s a traditional garnish or condiment of ‘povera cucina’ or ‘peasant cooking’ of the poorer villages and countryside, where nothing ever goes to waste.
Days-old stale bread would never get thrown out, but would be incorporated into soups or salads, or dried out and pounded in a mortar and pestle to make pangrattato or pangrattita. These days breadcrumbs are quickly and easily made in a blender or food processor.
Now while ‘pangrattato’ has been widely adopted in the English-speaking food world as the name of the Italian condiment, particularly by chefs, Italian ‘pangrattato’ is simply ‘breadcrumbs’. Or, more accurately, ‘breadcrumb’ or ‘grated bread’ in Italian – ‘pane’ is bread and ‘grattato’ is grated – while ‘pangrattita’ as the plural of the noun is actually ‘breadcrumbs’.
As with the use of ‘toum’ and ‘toumeyah’, we know how that happens. And as I did with my ‘toum’/’toumeyah’ recipe, I decided to stick with ‘pangrattato’ instead or pangrattita or mollica di pane because that’s the term more widely adopted to describe the condiment and the term that Google gives priority to in search results, and I want you to find this recipe.
Pangrattato as a condiment evolved from rustic breadcrumbs sprinkled on pasta to fried breadcrumbs, to fried breadcrumbs with minced garlic and a fresh herb and/or zest, to a condiment that chefs have been getting creative with, stirring in everything from crispy capers to crumbled n’duja.
And of course recipes for pangrattato can differ between regions, cities, towns, villages, and families. In Sicily, for instance, it’s customary to include anchovies in the mix, while in Calabria local chilli pepper products, such as chilli flakes, are a must.
Like language, food evolves, we all know that, and no matter how hard some cooks try to reproduce ‘authentic’ traditional dishes, ‘authenticity’ is such a loaded concept. For something to be ‘authentic’ it has to be fixed to a specific time and place, so don’t let that inhibit your creativity.
We love recreating dishes from places we’ve been and spent time in and moments and experiences we recall, whether it was a dish we learnt to cook or a restaurant meal we enjoyed. But getting inventive with recipes is also a lot of fun. Maybe we just need to conceive new names for those creations. Just a few tips to making this recipe for pangrattato, or pangrattata, or mollica di pane…
Tips to Making this Pangrattato Recipe for Italian Crispy Breadcrumbs with Parsley, Parmesan, Lemon Zest
I only have a few tips to making this pangrattato recipe as it’s super easy and quickly comes together. I’ve used store-bought standard breadcrumbs for a finer texture for this particular pangrattato. Japanese panko breadcrumbs are great too and will give you a larger, crunchier breadcrumb.
You can also make your own breadcrumbs with stale bread. Traditionally, Southern Italians pounded dried-out stale bread in a mortar and pestle or broke the dried bread up between their finger tips but you can blitz it in a small food processor or blender. (More stale bread recipes here.)
When it comes to frying or toasting the breadcrumbs, you can use a frying pan, skillet or wok. Keep your heat on medium and heat the extra virgin olive oil until shimmering then constantly stir the breadcrumbs as they brown within a few minutes and very quickly go from golden-brown to dark brown and black.
The breadcrumbs can burn easily and will continue to colour in a hot pan so transfer the breadcrumbs to a stainless steel bowl or baking tray to cool as soon as they’re done.
Let the breadcrumbs cool down before pouring them into the bowl of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon zest, ground paprika (or chilli powder or chilli flakes), and salt. Don’t forget to taste the pangrattato and adjust the seasoning and spice to suit your palate.
After sprinkling the pangrattato onto your plated pasta, make sure to serve a small bowl on the table so your guests can sprinkle on more if they wish. Don’t be surprised if the bowl is empty by the end of the meal. I’d see that as a good sign!
Store whatever pangrattato is left in a dry airtight jar such as a mason jar.
Pangrattato Recipe for Italian Crispy Breadcrumbs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup breadcrumbs - plain breadcrumbs for a fine texture, Panko for crunchier
- 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano - grated finely
- 1 lemon - zest only
- ½ tsp ground paprika - or chilli powder or chilli flakes
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- To a fry pan, wok or skillet over medium heat, add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, heat until shimmering, add the cup of breadcrumbs and stir-fry continuously for a few minutes (or as long as it takes) until the breadcrumbs are golden-brown, then set aside to cool.
- To a small bowl, add the finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon zest, ground paprika (or chilli powder or chilli flakes), and salt.
- Transfer the breadcrumbs to the bowl, stir well to thoroughly incorporate, taste and adjust the seasoning and spice to suit your palate.
- Sprinkle on plated dishes as you like and serve a small bowl on the table so guests can sprinkle on more if they wish. Store what’s left in a dry air-tight jar with lid.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if make our pangrattato recipe for Italian crispy breadcrumbs with parsley, parmesan and lemon zest as we love to hear how our recipes turn out for you.
