THE CANNY COOK: Runner beans with parmesan pangrattato

Daily Mail​

31-05-2025

Have you noticed how breadcrumbs have had a glow-up? They've come a long way from the brown, sandy crumbs I knew as a kid. A few years ago we discovered Japanese panko breadcrumbs, spiky shards that are brilliant for coating meat and fish. Now we can't get enough of pangrattato, which I see more and more on restaurant menus.
Pangrattato, which means 'grated bread' in Italian, is usually the stale ends that have been whizzed or broken up into crumbs then fried in olive oil and garlic. Other seasonings, like chopped herbs, chilli flakes or lemon zest, can be added. Even in its simplest incarnation, pangrattato is golden, salty and crunchy: a superb textural condiment to garnish vegetables, fish and meat.
In rural Italian cuisine, it is sometimes called 'poor man's parmesan', sprinkled over pasta, risotto and soup as an affordable alternative to cheese – a good example of the tradition for avoiding food waste. (It's also handy if you're cooking for vegans.)
In addition, it's a great way to accessorise green veg. In this week's recipe, I've added parmesan and lemon zest to the crumbs for an extra hit of umami flavour and scattered them over runner beans, an underrated vegetable that's in season now.
METHOD
For the pangrattato, remove and discard any crusts from the stale bread, then pulse to coarse breadcrumbs in a food processor.
Heat 1½ tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Finely grate or crush 1 garlic clove and fry for a minute until fragrant. Tip in the breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and fry, stirring regularly, until golden (3-5 minutes). Meanwhile, trim the beans and slice thinly on the diagonal.
Tip the pangrattato into a bowl and toss in the zest of ½ lemon and the grated parmesan.
Wipe out the pan, add 1 tbsp oil and turn the heat to medium-high. Fry the beans with a large pinch of salt for 7-8 minutes until tender. Squeeze in a little lemon juice, then take off the heat and transfer to a serving bowl.
Scatter with the pangrattato (you may not need it all) and serve. Any leftover pangrattato can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
*This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. prices taken from aldi and correct at time of going to press.