Spaghetti Aglio e Olio or Pasta with Garlic and Oil

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You may have noticed I love Italian food, I love pasta and apart from opening a tin of alphabetti spaghetti this is about the simplest, easiest, quickest pasta dish there is! As ever, it is adapted and purists would not like the addition of the stock cube, but I do.

This recipe is for two, or one greedy person and it can be scaled up or down to feed one or ten as a starter or a main dish, it couldn’t be easier or more versatile.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio or Pasta with Garlic and Oil


Ingredients

  • 200 grams Spaghetti or whatever dried pasta you have lying around
  • 2 chunky cloves of garlic
  • 1 fresh red chilli or a half teaspoon of the dried stuff
  • A generous tablespoon or two of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Half a vegetable stock cube crushed.

Instructions

  1. This hardly needs a method or instructions but as I am writing for the barely competent, like myself, I will tap them out.

    Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and get your pasta on. Finely chop the garlic and chilli and add to the olive oil along with the crushed veg stock cube. When I was first fed this by a friend they put the chilli oil garlic mix in a cup in the microwave for 20 seconds. This works perfectly well but there is the danger of overcooking it and I prefer to very gently fry in a small saucepan where I can keep an eye on it, it only takes a minute or two to slightly brown the garlic and you can then take it off the heat to wait for the pasta.

    When the pasta is done to your satisfaction drain it thoroughly and stir it into the chilli and garlic oil.

    A quick grinding of black pepper and for me that’s it, eat it!

    This is usually served with a grating of parmesan and chopped parsley but I love the simple oily freshness of this simplified version.

    Things like spring onions or spinach or prawns or whatever could also be added but again, I love this just the way it is without any adulterations.

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