← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 350 g Spaghetti
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 Red chilli, finely chopped, or ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• salt, for the pasta water

Method

1. Cook the spaghetti in a big pot of well-salted boiling water until 1 minute short of al dente. Scoop out a mug of the starchy water before draining.
2. While it cooks, put the oil, garlic and chilli in a cold, wide frying pan and set it over low heat. Let it sizzle gently for 3–4 min until the garlic is just turning pale gold, then take it off the heat; it burns fast.
3. Add a ladle of pasta water to the pan (it will spit), then add the drained spaghetti.
4. Toss hard over medium heat for 1–2 min, adding more water as needed, until the oil and water turn into a light, cloudy sauce that coats the pasta. Stir in the parsley and serve at once.

Tips

• Brown or bitter garlic will spoil the dish, so start in cold oil and keep the heat low.
• Italians skip the cheese here, but a little pecorino is a tasty, non-vegan extra.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food GialloZafferano Lazy Cat Kitchen