By Denise Zito
It is said that St. Joseph was a carpenter and his feast day is celebrated in some churches on March 19. I’m fond of this saint, as is my extended family. My father was Joseph (in fact, he was the second child in his family named Joseph, because the first child died—yikes!). My brother is Joseph. My Godfather is Joseph, as was an uncle on my mother’s side and of course many cousins. It’s such a large family that we have to double up on names. So many Josephs that nicknames abound: my father (Zeke), my Godfather Joe D (for DeMartino), my brother Pepe (for Guiseppe) or you simply use their full name or place of origin: Joe Manganello or Joe Zito from New Brunswick. I’ve been surrounded by Josephs my entire life.
Some families of Italian and Sicilian decent, especially in the U.S. northeast, celebrate this day with special foods and house-to-house visiting. The recipe that follows is, I suppose, to honor the sawdust of the carpenter and it’s the easiest pasta dish ever. When you enjoy this on March 19, know that it is almost spring.
St. Joseph the Carpenter Pasta (Serves 4)
- 1 lb. pasta
- 1 tsp. salt
- 6 quarts water
- ½ cup olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- ½ cup ground walnuts (cheap!) or whole pine nuts (pricey!)
Put the water on to boil and add the salt. In the meantime, heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Add the garlic and stir constantly so that it doesn’t burn, about 30 seconds. Keep the heat on medium. Then add the nuts and cook gently for about a minute, until they begin to brown. Add the breadcrumbs and stir. That’s it… turn off the heat.
When the water boils, cook the pasta until al dente, drain and mix with the breadcrumb ‘sauce’. Serve with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.
Note to readers: In August I’m going to feature a recipe that uses shishito peppers. If you want to make this, you’ll have to grow your own or spend a lot of money and time searching them out. I’ve saved some seeds and the first 10 readers to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Crozet Gazette will be sent five seeds with growing instructions. You can also order an entire seed packet online. I doubt you’ll find seedlings at any of the local plant nurseries, but I’ll keep my eyes open for that.