Sometimes simple is best. Seasoning a sauce to everyone’s taste can feel like an impossible potion from a series of books about witches and wizards. It can feel like a safer bet to buy something premade and blame the manufacturer when someone (anyone) complains. But there’s an easier answer — something that’s so difficult to ruin and so easy to make that it might be quicker than going to the specialty store to get the fancy, imported, premade stuff: garlic, olive oil, and lots of parmesan cheese.
With only five ingredients (not counting the pasta), you can really keep this recipe in your back pocket for those nights when you just don’t know what to make. A salad served alongside adds color and veggies to this tasty meal.
Spaghetti aglio e olio
5
10 minutes
25 minutes
35 minutes
1 pound uncooked spaghetti
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
7 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Salt and pepper
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box until al dente.
Get about 2 cups of pasta water from the pot.
Drain the pasta and return it to the pot, and set the pot aside.
Heat the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until the garlic begins to brown and become fragrant, and the olive oil is bubbling around the edges of the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium low, add the red pepper flakes, and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Add about 1/2 cups of the pasta water, stir, and cook for another minute.
Remove the pan from the heat, and pour over the pasta. Mix well.
Add the chopped parsley, and mix well.
Put the Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta, add some pepper, and mix to combine.
Add a few tablespoons of additional pasta water and stir until the Parmesan cheese melts completely.
Serve immediately.