Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino is a traditional pasta from Naples, Italy.  From everything I’ve read about the dish, it is one that you don’t want to change very much, due to its simple, but delicious nature.  So, I made minimal substitutions in this recipe, and it was delicious!  I tweaked a variety of recipes I found online to develop this recipe.

Spaghetti Aglio, Olio de Peperoncino

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry spaghetti (I used Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti.)
• Salt
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 8 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (I used Follow Your Heart Parmesan.)

Directions:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook 1 minute less than al dente.  Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water.  Drain the pasta and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat large enough to hold the pasta.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, just until it starts to turn golden brown on the edges.    Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 more seconds.  Carefully add the reserved pasta-cooking water to the garlic and oil and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by about a third.
• Add the drained pasta to the garlic sauce and toss.  Off the heat, add the parsley and Parmesan and toss well.  Let the pasta rest for about 5 minutes so all the flavors can be absorbed.  Taste for seasoning and serve with extra Parmesan on the side.

Spaghetti Aglio, Olio de Peperoncino 

As I stated earlier, this pasta is simple to make and is a tasty, light meal.  I hope you will try Spaghetti Aglio, Olio de Peperoncino.