Every time I watch the movie Chef, one of my favorite food movies, and see Scarlett Johansson dive into a bowl of spaghetti aglio olio, I have to make this recipe. This Italian pasta recipe is truly a class in taking simple ingredients and turning them into something seductive and incredible. If someone got you a nice bottle of olive oil for Christmas, this is the time to crack it open. Some pasta, some good olive oil, some parmesan, it’s what my dreams are made of.
The secret to success in this dish is slicing the garlic thinly lengthwise, not mincing it. It will be less likely to burn.
The other trick I learned in making this dish is adding the garlic to the pan, and THEN turning on the heat, and letting the garlic cook as the pan comes to temperature. This allows time for that raw garlic flavor to infuse the olive oil with tons of flavor.
Parsley is more traditional for this recipe, but I’m not the biggest fan of parsley and I absolutely adore basil, so I just use that instead.
What makes this recipe enchanting:
It's a great pantry recipe that uses things you might already have on hand
You get a lot of flavor using very few ingredients
This is a great weeknight dinner that everybody loves
More easy dinner recipes:
Serves 2:
A generous handful of pine nuts (optional)
½ package of spaghetti
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
About 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced lengthwise
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Half a lemon's zest & juice
Generous handful of basil leaves
About ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Directions:
Fill a pot halfway with water, salt it well, and then bring to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain.
Meanwhile, if using the pine nuts, heat a small pan over medium-low heat. Add the pine nuts to the dry pan and toast, stirring constantly, until fragrant and starting to turn golden brown. Pour the toasted pine nuts into a bowl and set aside.
To a large nonstick skillet, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add your thinly sliced garlic cloves to the pan, and then turn on the heat over medium. Begin stirring constantly with a silicone spatula. Once the olive oil comes to a bubble, add the chili flakes, and the pine nuts if you are using those. At this point, the garlic should be starting to a turn a slight golden brown around the edges. As soon as this happens, take off the heat immediately. It will continue to cook even when you take it off the heat.
Add your cooked spaghetti, and use tongs or 2 forks to toss the spaghetti in the garlic oil. Zest the lemon over the pasta, and then squeeze its on top. Add the basil, parmesan, and pepper, and toss with tongs to combine. Place in a bowl and top with more pepper and more Parmesan if you’d like.
