20-Minute Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The whole point of this four-ingredient Roman classic is patience with the garlic: sliced thin and coaxed to pale gold in barely-simmering olive oil, it turns sweet and nutty instead of bitter. Then you build a glossy, clinging sauce out of nothing but that oil, starchy pasta water and vigorous tossing. Pantry dinner, restaurant plate.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried spaghetti or spaghettini
• 2 tbsp kosher salt, for the pasta water

• 1/2 cup good extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, sliced paper-thin
• 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or 1 dried peperoncino, crumbled

• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano (optional, not traditional)

Instructions

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pot and add 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Meanwhile, slice the garlic as thinly as you can — a paring knife against a flat-laid clove gives thin, even coins that toast at the same rate. Avoid a press or microplane; minced garlic scorches in seconds.
2. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and stir. Set a timer for 2 minutes less than the package's low end (usually 8 minutes) — you want it firmly al dente because it will finish in the pan.
3. While the pasta cooks, combine the olive oil and sliced garlic in a cold 12-inch skillet, then set it over medium-low heat. Starting cold is the trick: the garlic warms gradually and cooks through instead of browning on the outside. You should see only lazy, sporadic bubbles — if it sizzles hard, pull the pan off the heat for 30 seconds.
4. Toast the garlic 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the slices are uniformly pale gold and the oil smells sweet and nutty. Pull the pan from the heat the moment the first slices turn light amber — carryover heat will take them the rest of the way, and deep brown garlic tastes bitter. Stir in the red pepper flakes and let them bloom in the residual heat for 30 seconds.
5. Before draining, scoop out 2 cups of the starchy pasta water. Drain the spaghetti (do not rinse) and immediately add it to the skillet along with 3/4 cup of the pasta water.
6. Return the skillet to medium heat and toss constantly and aggressively for 90 seconds to 2 minutes — tongs in one hand, pan handle in the other, keeping the pasta in motion. The starch in the water and the oil will come together into a creamy, slightly thickened sauce that coats every strand. If it looks oily or separated, add pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time and keep tossing; if it looks soupy, keep tossing over the heat until it tightens.
7. Kill the heat. Add the parsley, flaky salt and lemon zest if using, and toss 20 more seconds. Taste and adjust salt — aglio e olio needs more than you think. If using cheese, add it off the heat with a final splash of pasta water so it melts into the sauce rather than clumping.
8. Divide among 4 warm bowls, twirling each portion into a nest with tongs. Finish with a thread of raw olive oil and serve immediately — the emulsion is at its best in the first two minutes.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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