Spaghetti all’aglio, olio e peperoncino

Or in short, just aglio e olio is one of my favorite dishes. It is on our table at least once a week.

It’s, simple, cheap and delicious!

Spaghetti aglio olio is traditional Italian pasta, some say that it is originaly from Naples, and the  others claim it comes from Abruzzo. I’m not Italian, so I don’t know who is right or wrong in this matter – I only know that it is one of the most delicate, most delicious, and definitely the simplest dish to prepare.

Spaghetti aglio olio

You need quality long pasta (yes, spaghetti, but good linguine will do good, as well), nice and healthy garlic (few cloves, it all depends how much are you found of its’ smell and taste), extra vergin olive oil, and a little bit of grated parmigiano reggiano or similar cheese. Optional, add peperoncino (I can’t imagine spaghetti without peperoncino) and chopped, fresh parsley.

 

Cook the pasta in enough salty, boiling water. I always cook it a minute less then it’s written on the package – that’s how it is easier to keep this “al-dente” taste…and if you are not sure, you can always taste it.

While cooking the spaghetti, finely chop garlic, peperoncino and parsley.

In a large pan add extra virgin olive oil and wait few moments until it gets hot (not smoking hot 🙂 ), then insert garlic and peperoncino. Remeber, in that stage your spaghetti should be half way cooked. Saute for a minute (or less, if the oil was too hot) – just until you can clearly smeel the garlic.

Add a few spoons of cooking water in the pan – enough to stop the oil/garlic mixture to burn and mix it.

Now, it’s time to join spaghetti with aglio olio. The best result you’ll get if you directly transfer pasta from cooking pot to the pan with garlic and peperoncino. It’s a bit harder then to drain it on traditional way, but the taste you’ll get is superb!

Take it away from the fire, mix in grated cheese and sprinkle with chopped parsley (if you want).

…and serve it with some good wine!