Midnight Pasta Aglio e Olio
This is the recipe you make when you get home late and nothing else will do. Not because you're hungry—though you probably are—but because you need the ritual. The satisfying click of the gas igniting. The smell of garlic warming in good olive oil. The meditative act of twirling spaghetti around a fork while standing at the kitchen bench in half-darkness.
Aglio e olio is deceptive. Six ingredients, fifteen minutes, one pan. It looks too simple to be interesting. But there's a reason Italians have been making this exact dish for generations. It's about getting everything just right—the garlic sliced thin enough to soften without burning, enough pasta water to create a silky emulsion, the chilli heat balanced against the fruity oil.
I make this at least once a week, usually late on a Thursday when the fridge is empty and I can't face another delivery app. Sometimes I grate parmesan over it, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I add a handful of rocket at the end for greenery and virtue signalling. But mostly I eat it exactly as written, standing up, straight from the pan, with a glass of whatever wine is open. It's my kitchen reset button. Simple, reliable, exactly what it needs to be.
Ingredients
- 100g dried spaghetti
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 60ml extra virgin olive oil (the good stuff)
- Small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Parmesan, for grating (optional)
- Sea salt
Method
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. The water should taste like the sea. Add the spaghetti and cook according to packet directions, minus one minute. You want it just shy of al dente.
- While the pasta cooks, pour the olive oil into a large frying pan over the lowest heat you can manage. Add the sliced garlic and let it gently sizzle and soften. This is not a race. The garlic should slowly turn golden and fragrant over about 5-6 minutes, never brown. Stir occasionally.
- When the garlic is just starting to colour, add the chilli flakes. Let them bloom in the oil for 30 seconds—you'll smell them wake up.
- Before draining the pasta, use a mug to scoop out about 120ml of the starchy pasta water. This is liquid gold for bringing the sauce together.
- Drain the spaghetti and immediately add it to the pan with the garlic oil. Toss everything together over medium heat, adding the pasta water a splash at a time. The starch in the water will emulsify with the oil to create a light, silky coating. Keep tossing until the pasta looks glossy and cohesive, not oily or dry.
- Kill the heat. Add the chopped parsley and toss through. Taste and adjust salt. Grate parmesan over the top if that's your preference. Eat immediately, preferably standing at the kitchen counter in your socks.
Nutrition (per serve)
| Energy | 520 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 15g |
| Carbohydrates | 65g |
| Fat | 22g |
