Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Spaghetti aglio e olio (Spaghetti with garlic and oil) is a traditional Italian pasta dish, popular across Italy. The dish is made by lightly sauteing minced or pressed garlic in olive oil. It is a very quick dish to make which takes about 10 minutes start to finish. In this recipe, I made use of both fresh and roasted garlic to intensify its flavor. This is a recipe you wanna break out your best bottle of olive oil for.
A unique thing about this recipe is that it can be recreated in so many different ways. I have another recipe for Sardine Spaghettini Anglio e Olio in which I used spaghettini in place of spaghetti and added some sardines to the dish. That recipe can be found here.
INGREDIENTS
(1) 250 Grams of Spaghetti
(2) 3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(3) 4 Large Garlic Cloves
(5) 1 Tablespoon of Chopped Parsley
(6) 1/2 Chili Pepper
(7) 2 Tablespoons of Pine Nuts (Optional)
(8) Salt and Pepper to Taste.
PROCEDURE:
(1) Place a large pot of water on fire. When it starts boiling, salt it heavily and place your spaghetti in the boiling water to cook. You want the spaghetti al dente. This should take between 7-8 minutes. By the time the spaghetti is ready, the infused oil should be ready. Learn how to cook pasta properly here.
(2) Slice garlic into thin round slices. I used a couple of roasted garlic and some of the roasted garlic infused olive oil for this recipe. The tutorial for both of these can be found here. Also slice the chili and dice the parsley finely.
(3) Put the olive oil in a small sauce pan and put in the sliced garlic and chili. Place the pan on low heat and allow the oil to get hot. You want the garlic to infuse the olive oil with its flavor. Watch it carefully so as not to burn the garlic. When the oil is hot, add the pine nuts if using and continue infusing the oil on fire till the pasta is ready. About 7 minutes. As I mentioned earlier on, you need a very good olive oil for this dish. Look for one that is extra virgin, cold pressed, and if possible, organic.
(4) As soon as the pasta is al dente, drain the water leaving about a tablespoon inside the pasta pot. Pour the infused oil with its contents over pasta along with the minced parsley. Toss and add more seasoning if needed.
Serve dish immediately. You can enjoy this simple but flavorful pasta dish with a chilled bottle of Prosecco.
Terry Adido is passionate about showing people how easy it is to recreate restaurant quality meals in the comfort of their kitchens. With a style of cooking he refers to as Afro-European Fusion, his meals are influenced greatly by French and Italian Cuisine with a West African twist. If you love good food, you are in for the ride of your life.
This sounds like a meal you have solo when you really are basking in the glory of your solitude. I will try this out when next the mood hits me. Thumbs up Terry.
Indeed it does. Have fun trying it out.
the torch Parsley leaf i love, simple and less complicated for me. this will do for my dinner, thanks.
You are welcome.
Thanks so much Terry for this recipe. I made it tonight wondering how it will taste without Maggi seasoning (this is my first time preparing a dish without it). It proved me wrong as it was a lovely dish loved by my kids. Thanks again
That’s awesome. Yeah, most times, salt, pepper and fresh herbs and spices are all you need.