On this page I’m sharing a recipe for Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Garlic and Oil). This is a pasta recipe how the Italians intended pasta dishes. Not with a lot of sauce or other additions, but a simple pasta recipe with just a few ingredients but a lot of flavor. As you have guessed, garlic and olive oil are the main ingredients for this Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. Continue to read for the recipe.
In Italy, this pasta is a starter. They serve spaghetti, macaroni and other pastas before the main dish of meat or fish and vegetables. You can also make this recipe as a starter of course, but you can also make it as a main dish. It tastes great with (vegetarian) Chicken Parmigiana for example.
Good Spaghetti
Because you don’t use a lot of ingredients for this recipe, you want the few ingredients that you use to have a really good quality. The most important ingredient is the pasta itself of course. So make sure to use a high quality spaghetti when making this recipe. I used La Molisana spaghetti for this recipe. La Molisana is an Italian family-owned brand that has been making pasta for over 100 years. It’s one of hte biggest pasta brands of Italy and the pasta is for sale in over 80 countries. In the Netherlands it’s for sale at Coop and Albert Heijn. You’ll probably recognize the white packages. Their pastas are high in protein for a full flavor and a nice al-dente bite. Because the texture of the pasta is a bit rough, the oil of this recipe attaches to the spaghetti really well.
Recipe Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Ingredients (serves 4):
300 grams of spaghetti
100 ml olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
Optionally: fresh parsley
Bring a big pan of water with salt to a boil. Cook the spaghetti al-dente according to the instructions on the package.
Finely chop the garlic. Warm the olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic and chili flakes. Shortly fry on medium fire until the garlic is golden and soft.
Drain the spaghetti. Add the garlic and olive oil to the pan with spaghetti. Stir to combine.
Optionally: serve with finely chopped parsley.
You might also like my recipe for Spaghetti with spinach and tahini.