If the pasta heaven exists, we have found it now. Spaghetti aglio e olio: just about the simplest pasta recipe there is, but so delicious!
Ingredients for 2 persons:
- 450 grams spaghetti (fresh or dried)
- Half bulb garlic, peeled
- 120 ml olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried red chili
- 1/2 lemon
- Hand of leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)
- Salt
Spaghetti aglio e olio consists of – the name says it all – garlic and olive oil. These are the greatest seasonings. Some fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese complete the pasta dish. So you don’t need a lot of ingredients. Make sure you go for the best (fresh) spaghetti, garlic and olive oil. It will be worth it, believe us.
In the awesome foodie movie Chef (which is kind of a prequel to the Netflix series: The Chef Show) main character Carl Casper (played by Jon Favreau) makes this spaghetti to seduce Scarlett Johansson. It worked.
This is how you make it
Put on a pan with boiling water and make it nice and salty. Cook the pasta al dente, according to the instructions on the package.
Meanwhile, cut the garlic into thin slices. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on low heat. Gently fry the garlic in the warm oil. Keep an eye on it: the garlic must not burn at all, of course. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle with the dried chili.
Drain the spaghetti, but keep a cup of pasta water behind. Put the pasta with the garlic oil in the pan and sprinkle with the parsley. Mix together and if necessary add some of the pasta water to make the spaghetti creamy. Squeeze the lemon and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
Buon appetito!