Fettuccine Modica (English version)

(Cliccate qua per la versione italiana di questo post.)

Like the previous recipe, this dish would work well for a simple Good Friday dinner.

Today I received a message from my dear cousin, Anthony (Warning! You’re about to hear a very Sicilian name.) Modica.

What a majestic name, Modica! Even if the family came from Mineo (province of Catania), in ages past they must have originated from the beautiful town of Modica.

Cousin Anthony wrote to me asking if I knew of a Sicilian dish comprised of linguine, orange (the rind, I assume), cinnamon, and breadcrumbs.

This question struck me as a coincidence.  In the previous post, only a couple of days ago, I posted a recipe that paired these two flavors, utilizing a jar, from Sciacca, of Sicilian sea salt infused with orange and cinnamon.  Meanwhile, spaghetti al pangrattato (spaghetti with breadcrumbs) is a renowned Southern Italian peasant dish.  And tonight I was already in the mood to open my little can of anchovies rolled with capers.

With immense pleasure, I have created this recipe, affectionately dedicated to the Modica family.

Ingredients

500 gr fettuccine (or linguine), Poiatti brand if possible
Sicilian sea salt
a little piece of a cinnamon stick
orange rind
Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil
homemade breadcrumbs
2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped (NOT pressed)
55 gr anchovies rolled with capers (7 or 8)
fresh-ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on medium heat.  Add the breadcrumbs and toast them till golden.  (It won't take very long.) Ten seconds before shutting off the heat, add the garlic.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the anchovies, capers, and pepper, and put the pan aside.

Boil a large pan of water.  Add the sea salt, orange rind, and cinnamon.  When it reaches a boil, add the fettuccine.  Before straining the pasta, remove 1 C of the cooking liquid (fragrant with the orange and cinnamon) and add it to the frying pan.  Strain the pasta and add it to the frying pan.  Drizzle with oil.  (When you cook, always use the minimum oil that is necessary, and add more oil at the end.  Uncooked oil is healthier and more delicious.)

Don't add grated cheese, which you shouldn't use with fish.

The subtle flavor of the cinnamon will give a wonderful earthy taste. (Remember that cinnamon is a tree bark.) With the bright citrus taste, it will make a fabulous pair of flavors.  The taste of the rolled anchovies will also be subtle, once it is spread throughout a whole pound of pasta.

Serve with Insolia, one of the most marvelous white wines in Sicily, and in all of Italy.

ADDENDUM (3 June 2020):
Today, quite by accident, I discovered the recipe that my dear cousin was talking about seven years ago: Pasta co’ meli, a dish consisting of spaghetti, toasted almonds, toasted breadcrumbs, honey, cinnamon, and orange rind. The dish comes from Butera, a town in central-southern Sicily. It is a traditional dish on the Feast of St. Joseph (March 19). All the recipes I found call for spaghetti, not linguine.