Aglio Olio

Not the Beastie Boys EP. Aglio = garlic Olio = oil

We had been meaning to make this pasta dish since we got back from Italy. For some reason, we kept putting it off until one night we had an empty fridge apart from a sad looking bunch of parsley. And OMG, we are such fools for not doing this earlier.

It doesn’t get ANY simpler than this. And it tastes great. I thought it would be really fatty as the ‘sauce’ is basically olive oil, but I don’t think we actually used copious amounts of this. I made a salad to go with it to make it feel like a more complete meal, and bread is a must to wipe up the bowl.

Aglio Olio (serves 2)

Olive oil
Half a pack of good quality dried spaghetti
6 or more cloves of garlic, sliced thinly ( i thik we used more)
Chilli flakes
Salt, pepper
Finely chopped parsley
Good quality parmesan to serve

Fry the garlic in oil on a low to medium heat, covered and stirring occasionally. It takes about 15 minutes to get golden, caramel-ly garlic (be careful not to overcook).


Meanwhile bring a pot of water to the boil, salt well and cook spaghetti until al dente.
Drain the spaghetti and add to the pan and toss with oil and garlic. Add the chilli, salt and pepper and parsley. Serve with parmasen. Eat. Enjoy.

Action shot!