Imagine this! A plate of spaghetti which has been coated with a mixture of olive oil, toasted breadcrumbs, walnuts, garlic, golden raisins and parsley. Saint Josephs Day Spaghetti recipe, aka Spaghetti di San Giuseppe, is a pasta dish traditionally served on March 19th and Christmas Eve.
Think about this for a minute: a plate of carbs (pasta), served with more carbs (toasted breadcrumbs). The breadcrumbs in this recipe are very symbolic – they are meant to represent sawdust (since Saint Joseph was a carpenter), and cheese, as well (since this was a poor man’s dish).
Perhaps this meatless meal doesn’t sound very appetizing, but there’s something about this recipe that works for me. I guess it’s the combination of sweetness with the mild nutty flavor.
Based on my personal experience, this is one of those dishes that you either love or hate. As you can probably guess, I belong to the group that loves this recipe.
Origin of the recipe for Saint Josephs Day Spaghetti Recipe:
As you can well imagine, this is another recipe which was part of my Italian heritage.
In my upbringing, Saint Joseph’s Day Spaghetti recipe was only served twice a year: Christmas Eve and on March 19th in honor of Saint Joseph. As you are probably aware, there is another more popular food tradition celebrated on this day: Zeppole di San Giuseppe (just follow the link for the recipe).
I still have vivid images of my paternal grandmother standing on a chair, armed with a large wooden paddle (which my dad had made) stirring the freshly ground bread crumbs in a pool of olive oil in an industrial sized stock pot.
How could I forget the sweet aroma and the sound of the garlic sizzling in the olive oil? And then the moment when my grandmother decided that it was time to add the bread crumbs, well everyone had to stand back for fear of getting splattered with oil. It really was such a dramatic event… I can’t help but smile when I think of those moments.
As a child, I was so impressed with the authority, confidence and pride my grandmother had when she made this dish. This dish represented her roots, in the rural town of Ripabottoni, in the province of Campobasso, in the Italian region of Molise.
On March 19th and on Christmas Eve, family and friends are always welcomed to drop by and try Saint Joseph’s Day Spaghetti Recipe!
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
Ciao for now,
Maria 🙂
★★★★★ If you have made this recipe for St. Joseph’s Spaghetti, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
St. Josephs Day Spaghetti Recipe
Spaghetti which has been coated with a mixture of olive oil, breadcrumbs, walnuts, garlic, golden raisins and parsley. Saint Josephs Day Spaghetti recipe.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups unseasoned coarse breadcrumbs
- 2 cups finely chopped walnuts about 200 grams
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 3/4 cup of golden raisins plumped (about 100 grams)
- 350 grams spaghetti 1 package
- salt to taste
- pepper and crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Sauté the garlic until fragrant, 1-2 minutes (do not brown).
- Reduce heat to medium low and add the breadcrumbs.
- Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and combine. Stir together for about 2 minutes (breadcrumbs will get slightly toasted and should absorb the oil).
- Add the chopped walnuts and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
Add raisins and parsley. Combine. Set aside. Add up to 1 cup of cooking water (from the pasta) if mixture appears to dry.
- Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
- Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente.
- Drain the pasta and reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water. Drizzle 2 more tablespoons of olive oil.
- In a large serving dish, alternate layers of pasta and bread mixture (top with bread mixture).
- Garnish with parsley and drizzle remainer oilve oil.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to adjust the amount of garlic, walnuts and raisins based on personal preference.
Sonia and mom says
Mary I am speechless my dad loved this dish thank you
Maria says
Hi Sonia and mom, I also love this dish…especially the memories associated with it. Hope it brought back some nice memories for you too. Appreciate your comment 🙂
deb@glutenfreefarina says
This is new to me, but I think all the textures along with the sweet and nuttiness of the dish make this sound divine. Love the memories associated with the dish and how amazing that you know so much about your family’s history. Thanks!
Maria says
Hi Deb,
I had the privilege of living with my paternal grandparents…they were both in their early 90’s when they passed (of natural causes) and they were still sharing the stories of the old country. This spaghetti recipe really is one of my favorites 🙂 Thanks for dropping 🙂 🙂
Allie | In This Kitchen says
Oh my goodness, it sounds so good! Will pin this for future use… that combo just sounds amazing.
Maria says
Hi Allie! The combination of simple ingredients really works so well in this recipe. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Jo Vanderwolf says
This looks and sounds amazing! I always think I’m not going to like raisins in dishes but then end up loving them in there. I will have to give this a try. I’m pretty sure I would be in the “love it” category!
Maria says
I am sure you are going to love this spaghetti recipe… in fact, the roasted garlic and the golden raisins are great together! Thanks for stopping by Jo ♥♥♥
Colleen says
Maria, I haven’t heard of this dish, but to me it sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it.
Maria says
This very simple spaghetti recipe really has all the elements to make it work. Hope you get a chance to try it! Thanks for stopping by Colleen ♥♥♥
Aryane @Valises & Gourmandises says
It’s the first time I hear of this dish, but knowing Italian cuisine, it can only be amazing!!
And I love that memory of your grandma. Food has this power of taking us back in time.
Maria says
Absolutely! I have a vivid memory of my grandmother making this dish and that was over 40 years ago!!! My,oh my where does the time go 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Aryane 🙂
Francine says
My mom used to make this dish for us but she used to add honey and she used perchitelli maccaroni instead of spaghetti, She didn’t use walnuts. What fine memories we have of this.
Maria says
How wonderful Francine ♥ It never seizes to amaze me how food can bring us back in time… thanks so much for taking the time to share your story. Appreciate it 🙂 Have a wonderful week-end!
Joanne says
My grandfather made it all the time but he never put nuts or raisins he used feel and anchovies instead
Maria says
That is the beauty of Italian regional cooking, every family added their own personal touch to recipes. Appreciate your comment Joanne, thanks for stopping by 🙂