A Sicilian friend who once visited us for the weekend and offered to make lunch, taught me a great substitute for Parmesan. We'd run out, and his pasta dish commanded a topping. So he fried up some bread crumbs and declared them "Poor Man’s Parmesan" with a very Southern Italian flick of the wrist and lift of the eyebrows.
This weekend, despite a nice hunk of Parmesan lurking in the fridge, we made a batch of the breadcrumbs and topped a zucchini and ham pasta dish with them. It just seemed like the right accompaniment. The next day, a salad of garden greens and avocado got the treatment. And I was reminded of just how delicious this little treat is, and easy to make, too.
Poor Man’s Parmesan (Toasted Bread Crumbs)
makes 1/2 cup
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs*
Several tablespoons finely chopped parsley (or try other herbs like thyme, oregano, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Also a great topping for pasta dishes with fish since cheese should never be used
Sounds great! And now that I've retrieved my food processor from my parents I can acatually make this. Thanks for the recipe!
that would be wonderful on roasted veggies.
Hmm. I just realized this is also vegan. I am making dinner for a vegan friend this week and this might just put in an appearance...
my dad made this for my brother & i when we were little to top stringbeans. it definitely got us to eat our vegetables! hmmm, i think i'll remind my brother to try it on my niece and nephew...
I made this in 8th grade with garlic pasta for a "Christmas around the world" project after asking my great aunt for a recipe idea (it was a "make something from your heritage" project and fish was out of the question). It was NOT a big success with the 13 year old set. My dish languished while people ate pfeffernus (or however you spell that). But, this brought back memories and makes me want to make it again!
This sounds genuinely, excitingly stupid! Who in his or her right mind would confuse bread crumbs with cheese?