Tonight, I'd like to share one of my very favorite weekday dishes. There's nothing revolutionary about this dish. Spaghetti aglio e olio (or, "spaghetti with garlic and oil") is a very classic, very traditional Italian dish. And it's as simple as can be--the name of the dish is kind of the recipe.
I learned to make spaghetti aglio e olio some time ago, and it became an instant favorite. It's a very rare week that I don't make this dish at least a couple of nights for dinner. It's perfect for a grad student like myself--quick, easy, and cheap (talking about the dish, not me). And filling! The recipe below serves one hungry grad student or maybe two people with light to moderate appetites. Adjust all ingredient amounts accordingly if you make a larger batch. Let's get started!
I use 6 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti.
Boil the spaghetti al dente in generously salted water.
While you're waiting for the pot to boil, you can make the sauce, because they take roughly the same amount of time. Add about 3 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil to a pan. Don't turn the heat on yet!
Then, slice (don't mince) 2 or 3 cloves of garlic. Garlic is the star of this dish, so it really needs to be fresh. It should be cut about like this:
And seriously, don't be afraid of the garlic. It may seem like a lot to use for this amount of spaghetti, but this dish is
not overwhelming in its garlic flavor, which is subtle and pleasant.
Now, like I said, I have developed this recipe to feed me. If you're making a pound of spaghetti, which might be more common, you'll want closer to 1/2 cup of olive oil and 5 or 6 cloves of garlic.
While you have the cutting board out, chop some fresh Italian parsley. I didn't used to add this, but I now consider it crucial.
Add the garlic to the cold oil, and
then turn the heat to medium. You should heat the oil and garlic together because you want the oil to be thoroughly infused with garlic. Heating them together really makes a delicious and strongly-flavored sauce.
When the oil starts to sizzle, turn the heat down to medium-low and add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, or a couple of pinches if you like a little more spice. I err on the side of a little more spice, myself.
Keep the sauce on the heat until the garlic turns a nice golden brown. The garlic should cook
slowly so as to gradually release all of its flavor into the oil. Be careful not to burn the garlic, or you'll be back to square one!
One last thing to add to the sauce. Take about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and add it to the pan.
The spaghetti will probably be done just before the sauce. After you've taken out the 1/4 cup of pasta water, drain the spaghetti and return it to the pot. Then, when the sauce is done, simply pour it over the spaghetti, garlic and all. You won't even notice those big garlic slices are there, I promise.
Grind some fresh black pepper over the spaghetti, add the Italian parsley, and toss so every last noodle is covered in that garlicky deliciousness.
That's it! If you'd like, you can add some good parmesan. I love the simplicity of this dish. It's amazing how just a few ingredients can come together to make such a tasty dinner. Buon appetito!
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