I’m going to keep this headnote as short and simple as this beautiful and light, classic recipe known as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. “Aglio” is Italian for garlic and “Olio” is Italian for olive oil. Therefore, this Neapolitan dish is done in minutes as it only contains olive oil, garlic, optional red pepper flakes and pasta. It can also typically feature Parmesan and parsley, which I do here. But what amplifies the dish to the max is the addition of Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection!
This post was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon/Summit Hill Foods.
Watch The Video!
Cook The Pasta
Make The Aglio e Olio
Taste the Pasta
Reserve Some Pasta Water
Drain The Pasta
Marry the Pasta with the Aglio e Olio
The Taste Test
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
I’m going to keep this headnote as short and simple as this beautiful and light, classic recipe known as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. "Aglio" is Italian for garlic and "Olio" is Italian for olive oil. Therefore, this Neapolitan dish is done in minutes as it only contains olive oil, garlic, optional red pepper flakes and pasta. It can also typically feature Parmesan and parsley, which I do here. But what amplifies the dish to the max is the addition of Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection!
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti (or any pasta you prefer)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 12 cloves garlic, either thinly sliced or minced, or prssed
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection (optional)
- 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ - 1 cup reserved pasta water
- 1/2 - 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Fill an 8-quart pot half of the way with water and place on the stove over high heat. Once it achieves a rolling boil, add the salt and reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the pasta and gently stir until fully submerged in the water. Setting a timer, cook according to the package instructions for “al dente” (or the shortest amount of time the box suggests). Once the timer goes off, take a quick moment to pause what you’re doing. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the remaining water and cooked pasta through a colander in the sink. Do not rinse the pasta once drained. Just let it rest in the colander until called for.
- As soon as the pasta is added to the water, add the olive oil to a nonstick 4-5-quart sauté pan and bring to medium heat. Once shimmering (about 3 minutes), add the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using) and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until the garlic is lightly browned. Turn the stove off and remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan along with the Parmesan (start with 1/2 cup), ½ cup of the pasta water, and parsley (if using) and toss to coat everything in the oil. Feel free to add up to ½ cup more each of Parmesan and pasta water, if desired. Let rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately topped with additional Parmesan, olive oil and parsley, if desired.
Jeffrey's Tips
The optional red pepper flakes are given in a range because how spicy you want it is up to you. Even 1 teaspoon will be spicy. Feel free to taste the oil before adding more that until you’ve reached your spicy heart’s content. And in place of red pepper flakes from the market, this is actually the perfect dish to use those hot spices you may have gotten and forgotten about when on a trip to Italy! And if you don’t want it spicy at all, leave them out.
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