Great food is about balanced flavors and textural contrast—adding a healthy dose of crunchy seasoned bread crumbs to your favorite pasta dish is a good place to start.

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound day-old Italian bread, torn into chunks
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Pinch of chile flakes
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lightly packed parsley leaves
• 6 basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. In a food processor, pulse the bread with the garlic, chile flake, lemon zest, parsley and basil.
3. With the machine running, pour in the olive oil.
4. Process until coarse crumbs form.
5. Season with salt and pepper, then spread on a large rimmed baking sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden and crisp; let cool.