Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino
Garlic, oil and chili: the pantry pasta that is ready before the table is set
- Serves
- 4
- Hands-on
- Total
- Level
- Easy
The midnight pasta of southern Italy: garlic gently fried in olive oil with chili, emulsified with pasta water into a light sauce. Slicing the garlic thinly and starting it in cool oil gives sweet, golden flavor with no bitterness.
Ingredients
- 400 gspaghetti (14 oz)
- 90 mlextra-virgin olive oil (6 tbsp)plus extra to finish
- 6 clovesgarlicthinly sliced
- 1 tspdried chili flakesor 1–2 fresh red chilies, sliced
- 15 gflat-leaf parsley (½ cup)finely chopped
- 40 gfine sea salt (2 tbsp)for the pasta water
- Diet
- Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-free
- Allergens
- gluten
- Origin
- Italy (Naples)
Method
- Bring 4 L (4 qt) water to a boil with 40 g (2 tbsp) salt. This is the only salt in the dish, so do not skimp.
- Cook the spaghetti until 1 minute short of the packet time.
- While it cooks, put the oil, garlic and chili in a cold large frying pan. Set it over medium-low heat and cook, swirling, until the garlic is pale gold and smells sweet, 4–5 minutes. Pull the pan off the heat the moment it colors; it keeps cooking.
- Ladle 150 ml (⅔ cup) pasta water into the garlic oil. It will spit; this stops the garlic browning further.
- Lift the pasta into the pan and toss over medium-high heat for 1–2 minutes, adding more pasta water as needed, until the liquid turns cloudy and lightly coats the strands.
- Toss in the parsley and a final drizzle of olive oil, taste for salt and serve.
Why it works
Starting garlic in cold oil heats it slowly and evenly, so the thin slices turn golden and sweet all the way through instead of scorching at the edges; burnt garlic is bitter in a way nothing can fix. Hard tossing with starchy water breaks the oil into tiny droplets that the starch holds in suspension, turning a puddle of oil into a light, clinging sauce.
Common mistakes
- Browning the garlic: aim for straw-gold, never brown.
- Not tossing hard enough: oil and water need vigorous movement to emulsify.
Variations
- With anchovy
- Melt 4 anchovy fillets into the oil with the garlic (adds fish).
- With crunch
- Finish with a handful of Pangrattato for texture.
Notes
Cheese is not traditional here, but nobody will stop you.
