What’s the one Italian dish you can pull together in fifteen minutes and with nothing in your fridge?
Say “ciao” to Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- Salt (enough to season your pasta water)
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly (about 1 clove per person, without the germ)
- Sliced and seeded fresh red chili peppers to taste (or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes if you don’t have fresh ones)
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 4 fillets of anchovies (optional)
Servings: 4
METHOD
In a medium pot bring water to a boil.
Once boiling, add salt to taste (it should taste almost as salty as the sea).
Add the pasta and cook it for 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time.
While the pasta is cooking add half of the olive oil and garlic to a large sauté pan.
On medium heat, cook the garlic until it gets very fragrant and translucent (making sure not to burn it).
Add the crushed red chili flakes to the pan and let them cook for 1 minute, then add a generous spoonful of pasta water.
When al dente, strain the pasta and add it to the sauté pan right away.
Cook for another minute in the pan, then add the parsley and the rest of the extra virgin olive oil and give it a nice toss – a mantecatura – in the pan until everything is incorporated.
The water-sauce will be whipped with the extra virgin olive to create a perfect emulsion of oil, water, and starch.
Serve right away.
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