Pasta Aglio e Olio: Pasta in Oil with Garlic
(a.k.a. Fried Spaghetti)
For most of my life, I would have told you I couldn't cook to save my life. Ask my Mom, and she'll tell you a story of the time I supposedly burned spaghetti, while it was still boiling in the pot. I was the type of klutz in the kitchen who wasn't even able to boil water. What's more, there are many people across the country who declare themselves at this level – without realizing how truly easy it is to develop and master basic cooking skills....or at least use them and cook on a regular basis.
This is one of the easiest traditional Italian pasta dishes you can make, if you want to move up from dumping a jar of sauce over your pasta every time. It requires one skill that requires some caution, namely slicing garlic cloves with a knife; then frying the garlic slices in oil without burning them. If you can handle this, then you can make one of the most simple and basic, yet delicious, dishes in the world: pasta alio e olio, which simply means "Pasta in oil." Of course, the garlic is a crucial component to this dish, and the toasted garlic adds a whole new world of flavor to your pasta. This is why if you've only had your pasta when it's drowned in sauce, you really need to try pasta aglio olio.
You could say this is the traditional Italian version of cup-o-noodles, and it's the type of thing you can make in the middle of the night...if you can slice garlic in the middle of the night, that it is. The other hard part is boiling pasta, while heating up a cast iron pan on low heat.
Pans needed: A stock poit to boil the pasta, plus a colander to drain the cooked pasta. A large cast iron skillet: for 8 ounces of pasta, a 10-inch skillet is good. For a full pound of pasta, use a 12-inch skillet if you have one available.
Fill your stock pot about half-full with water, and salt the water. Heat the pot, covered, to bring to a rolling boil. While the water is heating, place the cast iron skillet onto the stove top and heat it at low to medium heat. Cast iron heats up very slowly, so placing it on the burner now, while the pasta is cooking, will give it plenty of time to gradually heat the entire pan and make it hot enough for cooking. Also, the temperature MUST be no more than low to medium heat on your stovetop burner. We don't want the garlic to instantly cook and burn, by using a pan that's too hot.
As the water is heating, peel and thinly slice ten cloves of garlic. You can use unpeeled garlic cloves from the store if you want, to save the time and effort of peeling them. Note: sliced garlic is far better to add flavor to the pasta. Minced garlic doesn't work right in this dish.
Boil pasta to al dente. Before emptying the pot, reserve about a cup of the hot pasta water. Drain the pasta with a colander, and move the pasta back into the same pot to keep it warm.
Now that the pasta is ready, it's time to put our cast iron skillet into action. Coat the surface of the pan with olive oil, and begin sauteeing the sliced garlic. We only only want to fry the garlic until they just begin to brown, and this only takes a couple of minutes. This is the tricky part, but it's not so hard. We have to be sure to gently fry the garlic so it's just beginning to brown. It's crucial not to burn the garlic. Add a dash of red pepper flakes and mix it in.
Add the pasta to the pan, and stir it all together to coat the pasta with olive oil. Again, this only takes a couple of minutes.
When the pasta is mixed with the oil and garlic, you can add it to a plate for serving. Top the pasta it with some grated parmesan cheese, ground black pepper and butter.
