This is an extraordinarily easy pasta dish to prepare. In its most traditional sense, it consists of only a few ingredients; spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, and either chili peppers or red pepper flakes. In this version, we mix things up a bit. Either way, it’s still one of the most straightforward bowls of pasta out there.
The Recipe
It’s up to you how hot you’d like to make this dish. The recipe today calls for one small chili pepper, but if you’re into hot pasta dishes, have at it. Add as many chili peppers as you’d like. Obviously the sauce will get hotter and hotter with each additional pepper added. Personally, I don’t care for hot dishes at all, so I only added a meager amount of pepper. Also, please note that if you don’t have any chili peppers on hand, you can easily substitute in some red pepper flakes and in fact, some similar recipes call for those flakes over the peppers themselves.
I found this recipe in my edition of The Complete Italian Cookbook by Carlo Bernasconi and Christian Teubner. Just another awesome pasta preparation by these two.
In my version of this recipe, I added some parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese. These two ingredients only added to the fun. There’s some variety among recipes when it comes to this one, so don’t think it’s a strict grouping of ingredients in any way. At its core though is pasta, garlic, oil, and hot pepper.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
1 Pound Spaghetti
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, Halved
1 Dried Chili Pepper (or 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes)
1 Tablespoon Parsley, Chopped
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Parmesan Cheese, Shredded
Cook the Spaghetti
Fill a large pot with water and add one tablespoon of salt to it. Then, bring to a boil over high heat. When boiling, add the spaghetti and cook for approximately 9-10 minutes or until al dente. Once finished, strain the pasta through a colander and set aside.
Make the Garlic Sauce
While the pasta is cooking, add the oil to a saucepan and warm over medium-low heat. Then, add in the garlic and chili pepper or pepper flakes. Stir and let cook for about five minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the parsley. Swirl the oil around so all the flavors combine.
Combine Ingredients
Add the pasta back to the pot it was cooked in. Then pour the oil sauce onto the pasta and mix everything together well. Season with salt and pepper; about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper (or to taste).
Plate & Serve
Divide the pasta among four bowls. Sprinkle some additional parsley on top of each serving if you wish and then sprinkle some shredded Parmesan on top of that. Enjoy!
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