Pasta Aglio e Olio
This is probably one of my favorite pasta dishes. In part because of its simplicity; and in part because it combines all of my favorite things! Garlic and oil! (That’s what aglio e olio mean). I’ve also been craving it since watching “Suburra” on Netflix (which, if you’re trying to learn/improve your Italian and you loved Sopranos, you’ll probably like) where it’s featured in a scene. It looked good then, and it looks good now!
As with most pasta dishes that hail from Southern Italy, it’s all about simplicity but with quality. Whenever you’re using just a few ingredients, you want to make sure they’re GOOD! A high quality extra virgin olive oil is ideal here. Check the back of the bottle to make sure the oil comes from only one country (obviously, my preference is Italy) and look for either a PGI, PDO, or DOC label. These all have slight variations but in general they are Europe and Italy’s way of marking a product as genuine.
Garlic obviously grows here in the U.S. so anything local will do. I generally chop mine pretty fine for this dish, though I’ve seen it served with slices of garlic - as always, your food is yours! The same goes for the amount of garlic. My mother looked at me horrified when I told her I had 10 cloves of garlic chopped for this dish! But when mixed with a pound of pasta, it’s not that dramatic! But again, if you’d like more, add more. Not looking to defeat any vampires later in the evening? Drop it down to around 8 cloves. It’s ENTIRELY up to you!
The final two ingredients are optional. You can add the peperoncino (red pepper flakes) if you’d like. I usually add some; though I don’t like a VERY spicy dish. My husband will add MUCH more when I serve him his plate because that’s what he prefers. So again, there’s room to play here. You can also top the finished dish with a sprinkle of grated parmigiano if you’d like. Even the Italians argue over this one! Which is why I stand by my mantra of create food YOU love to serve YOU and YOUR family.
I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as we do! You can watch the quick and easy video below and snag the recipe just beyond that.
Buon Appetito!
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Pasta Aglio e Olio
Serves 4
1 lb. spaghetti or another long pasta
3/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
8-10 cloves of garlic, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
fresh chopped parsley (optional)
grated parmigiano cheese (optional)
Bring a large pot of well salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Generally 8 minutes or until al dente.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Once oil is hot add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add red pepper flakes if using and reduce heat to low.
Transfer the pasta from the hot water to the pot with the oil. Add a few spoonfuls of pasta water. Toss until the pasta is well coated. Transfer to a serving platter.
Top with an extra drizzle of olive oil, fresh parsley and parmigiano if using.