Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, 2008

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Quick and Easy

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (65)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(65)

Cook Time:
10 min
Level:
--
Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Times:

Prep: 10 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 10 min
Total:: 20 min

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Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup seasoned dried bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
3/4 cup pitted and roughly chopped black olives (recommended: kalamata)
3/4 cup pitted and roughly chopped large green olives (recommended: Bella Di Cerignola)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bread crumbs and 1/4 teaspoon each of the sea salt and pepper. Stirring constantly, cook the breadcrumbs until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Stir the pasta into the bread crumb mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and add the black and green olives. Add the Parmesan cheese and 3 tablespoons of the parsley. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Transfer to a large serving bowl and garnish with the remaining parsley.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs
Melissa Granville, OH 03-14-2010
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So good!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

We love this dish! I have made this a few times already and my husband and I both LOVE it! So easy and quick, it will... become one of our staple sides, for sure. I was just perusing some of the reviews, and found many claiming the bread crumbs were soggy. This was not the case for us, but note the recipe calls for the addition of pasta water as "optional", and only to add if your spaghetti is clumping together. I set aside 1 cup of water, per the recommendation, and only used about 1 tablespoon, if even that. Ours has come out perfect every time. Give this dish a chance, just be careful about how much water you add. Enjoy!!Read more
recipe Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs
Tina San Gabriel, CA 03-07-2010
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Tastes bland and oily
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

Breadcrumbs were too oily-tasting even though I added extra breadcrumbs to the olive oil. It was bland while the italian... breadcrumbs were too salty even though I didn't add salt while toasting the breadcrumbs.Read more
recipe Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs
Paula Exeter, NH 03-04-2010
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Good base recipe in need of tweeking
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

I usually accept a recipe as it's written but this one lacked something so I changed it in the following ways: (1) I mixed... panko with Italian bread crumbs and sauteed in olive oil; set aside (2) sauteed a minced garlic clove with the olives (green and black) (3) added the garlic-olive mixture to the al dente spaghetti, along with the Parmesan cheese and a small amount of pasta water (4) mixed all that together, then (5) added the hot, crispy bread crumbs to the top. On one occasion I had some frozen cooked shrimp which I sauteed with the olives and garlic. The most important thing for this recipe was the pronounced flavors of the olives and garlic - and - the crunchiness of the bread crumbs. Stirring them into the pasta with everything else defeated the texture of the dish, which is really good. We look forward to this each time we decide to make it - easy and flavorful for a weeknight dinner.Read more
recipe Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs
Tracey Gorham, ME 03-02-2010
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Perfect!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I love this recipe...after reading the reviews, I was a bit hesitant...but tried it anyway. I cut everything in half for... just my husband and myself. It came out perfect! This recipe is a keeper!Read more
recipe Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs
Meredith Fort Worth, TX 02-26-2010
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The whole family loved this recipe!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

We really loved this recipe. After reading the reviews, I did not use as much oil and I increased the breadcrumbs. I only... had plain breadcrumbs on hand which I seasoned with Italian seasoning, oregano and pepper. I also did not use any salt in the recipe. In addition, I only had pre-grated parm and regular green olives stuffed with pimentos and I added 1 clove of garlic to the oil. The kids both had seconds and my husband had thirds! Enjoy!Read more
recipe Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs
Brit sallisaw, OK 02-25-2010
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Mouthful of oil!
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Gross so oily It tasted like a mouthful of the olive oil and beyond that it was very bland. to me it was not edible.