PASTA WITH ARUGULA, GARLIC BREADCRUMBS, PARMESAN & ROMANO

Pasta With Arugula, Garlic Breadcrumbs, Parmesan & Romano image

Easy, quick and so good. A alternative to a heavy cream sauce or meat sauce. This makes a wonderful side dish or a main dish. I love to serve this with a fresh mozzarella and tomato salad and some grilled bread. It makes for a great meal. Using good cheese and fresh herbs is key to this dish.

Provided by SarasotaCook

Categories High Protein

Time 20m

Yield 4-8 4 main dish, 8 side dish servings, 4-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 13

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Ingredients

1 lb thin spaghetti
1 cup romano cheese
1 (7 ounce) bag baby arugula
1/4 cup fresh basil (just torn)
1/4 cup olive oil (optional, I like to add it on top of the finished dish, but you can serve it on the side for anyone )
2 1/2 cups homemade breadcrumbs (I used a good Italian bread, day old and just ground in my food processor)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
5 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (add more if you like a little more heat)
salt (go very lightly)
pepper

Steps:

Bread Crumbs -- In a large sauce pan (you want a large pan as you will be adding the pasta and arugula to this pan), add the olive oil and bring to medium high heat. Add in the fresh bread crumbs and cook, stirring often, until golden brown and crisp. Add in the garlic and cook just another minute and remove from the heat. Add in the parsley, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and pepper. If you want you can add salt, but go easy, the parmesan, and the romano which will be added to the pasta later are salty, so you do not want to over season. You can always add more salt later. Mix to combine.
Pasta -- Now, as you were making your bread crumbs, you should of started your pasta. It doesn't take long for thin spaghetti. Cook according to directions, in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Once the pasta is done, add in the arugula and toss. The arugula will wilt up just by the heat of the pasta - there is no reason to cook it any further. Immediately, drain the pasta and arugula well, but keep some of that pasta water. It will be used to make a light sauce.
Combine -- Simply add the drained pasta and arugula right to the bread crumbs. Toss well to combine. Then add in the romano cheese, a little pasta water, and the basil. And again, toss well, check for any additional salt or pepper, and transfer to a serving bowl and finish with the 1/4 cup olive oil. If you don't want to add more oil, you can always serve it on the side. That way, each person can add it if they want.
Serve -- ENJOY!

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1345.5, Fat 65.9, SaturatedFat 18.7, Cholesterol 70, Sodium 1391.8, Carbohydrate 131.6, Fiber 4.2, Sugar 5.8, Protein 56.2