An iconic pasta dish from Naples, spaghetti aglio e olio embodies true Italian cooking. It is all about few but quality ingredients. You will want to use the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford. One mistake many people make when trying to make this dish is adding too much garlic. As with all Italian pasta dishes, the pasta should be the star. You want to be able to taste the garlic, but not only garlic.
Another secret to this dish is making it creamy without anything but oil and water. To accomplish this, we finish the pasta in the sauce and use the starchy pasta water. This will almost be an emulsion and give you a creamy sauce.
Traditional spaghetti aglio e olio is served without cheese. I highly recommend it trying it this way!
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Description
A simple spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, chili pepper and parsley.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Cook the Pasta
Add the pasta to large pot of well salted boiling water. Cooking time will depend on the pasta. Cook for 2 minutes less than the package says for al dente. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.
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Prepare the sauce
In a skillet over medium low heat add the garlic and chili pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes, ensuring the garlic goes not get brown. Add a 1/4 cup of the pasta water and bring to a light boil.
Add the pasta to the sauce and cook for another 2 minutes continually tossing. If the pasta starts to look dry add more pasta water. Finish by mixing in the chopped parsley.
