Pasta alla carrettiera

Method

1. 1 Crush the garlic cloves and add them to cool olive oil before turning the heat down low; this method extracts the garlic's flavor from the oil without burning it.
2. 2 Crumple the stale bread into crumbs and dry-toast them in a pan for 3 minutes until crispy, then set aside.
3. 3 Add the chopped dried chili peppers to the garlic oil, cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat as soon as the garlic turns light golden.
4. 4 Boil the noodles for less than 1 minute, then transfer them to a pan with oil and 100 ml of the boiling water, stirring vigorously for 2 minutes until thickened.
5. 5 Sprinkle with pecorino and chopped parsley, then top with toasted breadcrumbs—this is how cart drivers make a hearty meal when cheese is unavailable.

With an appliance

• Air fryer 23 min

  Replace step 2: Toast the dry breadcrumbs in an air fryer at 180 degrees for 4 minutes, tossing at the 2nd minute for even crispiness; keep step 5 as is and top with breadcrumbs last to prevent them from becoming soggy.