Spaghetti aglio e olio

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Spaghetti aglio e olio is an Italian classic first course that everyone needs to try at least once in their lifetime. It's so simple and yet so fulfilling and delicious. It brings to together the main elements of Italian cuisine: simplicity, creativity and comfort. No one can resist this.

Jump to:

• What is pasta aglio e olio?
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• How to make spaghetti aglio e olio
• Tips
• Variations
• Recipe
• Related recipes

What is pasta aglio e olio?

Pasta aglio e olio is an Italian pasta recipe that originated in the south of Italy, most probably around the Naples area, and that is now famous all over the world for its simplicity and taste.

The recipe is a "low-budget" version of another southern-Italian recipe, spaghetti with mussels, where the sauce is made with the same basic ingredients: plenty of extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, chili peppers, and a sprinkle of of finely chopped parsley on top.

Most often Italians make pasta aglio e olio with spaghetti, but it can also be made with vermicelli or linguine.

Among the Italian youth, spaghetti aglio e olio are often referred to as "midnight spaghetti".

I can confirm that growing up in Italy, my friends and I, after a long night out partying, would go back home and cook a quick, delicious, and satisfying midnight-snack of pasta aglio e olio. There's really nothing better than that!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Spaghetti: aglio e olio is made with long pasta types. We generally use spaghetti, but other pasta types that work well are linguine, bavette, or vermicelli. Italian dry pasta is made with only two ingredients: water and semolina or durum wheat flour.
  
  If you want the best, then try to find "bronze-cut" spaghetti. They have a rugged surface that helps the sauce stick better.
• Garlic: fresh garlic is best for this recipe.
• Chili peppers: you can use fresh red hot chili peppers finely sliced, or chili flakes.
• Oil: in this recipe try to use extra virgin olive oil. No other oil will produce a pasta aglio e olio that tastes like the one in Italy.
• Parsley: fresh flat leaf parsley is the best in this recipe, but a lot of people in Italy make aglio e olio without parsley at all.
• Water: tap water to boil the pasta.
• Salt: we use coarse salt to salt the pasta water. You can use any salt, but make sure to add at least 1 tbsp to the pasta water before cooking the pasta.

Equipment

• Large pot to cook the pasta.
• A large pan to make the sauce and sauté the pasta.
• Knife to finely chop the parsley and the garlic.

How to make spaghetti aglio e olio

We start this recipe by finely chopping the parsley and the garlic. Then in a large pot, bring 3 to 4 litres (1 gallon) of water to boil. Then when the water boils add the coarse sea salt.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water for the time that's on the package minus 4 minutes. We cook it less than instructed because we finish cooking it in the pan with the sauce to have a tastier and creamier dish.

While the pasta cooks, you can start making the sauce. Add the olive oil to a non stick or stainless steel pan on low heat. When the oil is warm, add the finely chopped garlic. Let fry in the oil for about 1 minute. Make sure your heat is on low and the oil doesn't get too hot. You don't want to burn the oil, nor the garlic. 

Turn the heat off, then add the chili flakes. Let fry with the garlic with the residual heat of the pan.

Finally, turn on the heat for another 30 seconds or so, until the garlic starts to fry again. As soon as it fries, turn the heat off and add the finely chopped parsley to the pan. Stir and let the parsley, garlic, and chili flakes cook together only with the residual heat of the pan and the oil.

When the pasta is ready, toss it in the pan but save the pasta cooking water.Turn on the heat on medium and finish cooking the pasta in the pan with the sauce for another 3 minutes, while gently moving the pasta around. Add a ladle or two of pasta water to make the whole thing come together.

Serve immediately this wonderful spaghetti aglio e olio, with some extra chili flakes and parsley on top. Enjoy this simple and delicious meal.

Tips

Chop everything in advance

If you haven't done pasta aglio e olio before my advice is to chop the garlic and the parsley before you start cooking the pasta. This is because you need to give your full attention to the garlic while it turns golden in the oil.

Garlic burns very easily in hot oil, so you need to make sure that the oil doesn't become too hot. If you burn the garlic don't worry, this happens. But you'll need to start again, or your pasta will taste really bitter and burned.

Use the right pasta type

This recipe is best with long pasta types. Spaghetti or linguine are the best. Another thing you should look for when you buy your pasta is the ingredients. Unfortunately, pasta has a bad reputation for being unhealthy, but this cannot be further from the truth.

Authentic Italian pasta, made from durum wheat or whole wheat - best if organic - is an incredible food. It has a perfect balance of protein (13g) and carbs (73g), is low fat (1.5g), and has low glycemic index. Just make sure you don't buy low quality pasta made from white flour.

Salt the pasta water

With all pasta recipes, and in particular with this one, is very important to put a generous amount of salt - one handful for 3 to 4 litres (1 gallon) of water - into the water you cook the pasta in.

If you don't salt the pasta water, the pasta will not be as tasty. I kid you not, growing up in Italy, I've seen family dinners end up in highly heated discussions with lots of drama, just because someone forgot to add salt to the pasta water.

You can use any salt to do that. However, the best salt is coarse sea salt. Sea salt is healthier than table salt and it gives a better flavour to the food since it contains natural minerals. Good quality sea salt is made by letting the sea water dry in the sun. Table salt, on the other hand, is made by chemically extracting the salt from the ground, then adding chemicals to it to make it stay dry.

Variations

This spaghetti aglio e olio recipe is just one way to make a delicious pasta with a rich and satisfying sauce. Here are some alternatives for 3 delicious Italian pastas.

Vegan cacio e Pepe: is that even possible? Nowadays it is, thanks to incredible plant-based cheese out there. And the result is an irresistible, creamy, peppery, and cheesy pasta dish that you can cook in just about 10 minutes. In the last couple of years, vegan cheese has become a valid substitute for regular cheese, in both texture and flavour. Try, and let us know what you think!

Pasta al Pomodoro: Our spaghetti al pomodoro is quick to make, with easy-to-find and simple ingredients. They are creamy, full of umami, and with with notes of garlic and fresh basil. This Pasta recipe is a healthy dish that is the perfect comfort food for a cozy night full of hygge.

Linguine with Chanterelles Mushrooms: Simple and fresh ingredients, for a healthy and delicious meal. You can throw this wonderful pasta recipe together in under 10 minutes. Just the time to boil the pasta, et voilà!

Recipe

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