Spaghetti Aglio e Olio: The Classic Recipe from Campania

What is the one Italian dish you can pull together in fifteen minutes with nothing in your fridge? Spaghetti aglio e olio. Originating in Campania, this iconic pasta is a classic example of cucina povera, making the most of simple ingredients. Every one can be found in your pantry in a moment's notice, which is why it is just as often eaten for dinner as it is for a midnight snack. In Napoli, the dish was originally called spaghetti all boronica, and chefs even added stones collected from the seaside and a pomodorino del piennolo to give the plate a true taste of il mare. It also traditionally provides the base for other iconic Neapolitan recipes like spaghetti alle vongole or spaghetti with anchovies.

Ingredients

• 1 box Eataly Spaghetti
• Salt (to season your pasta water)
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
• Sliced and seeded fresh red chili peppers to taste, optional (or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes)
• ½ cup reserved pasta water
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 4 fillets of anchovies, optional

How to make Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

1. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add salt to taste — it should taste almost as salty as the sea. Add the pasta and cook it for 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time.
2. While the pasta is cooking, add half of the olive oil and garlic to a large sauté pan. On medium heat, cook the garlic until it is very fragrant and translucent, making sure not to burn it.
3. Add the crushed red chili flakes to the pan and let them cook for 1 minute, then add a generous spoonful of pasta water.
4. When the pasta is al dente, strain it and add it to the sauté pan immediately. Cook for another minute in the pan, then add the parsley and the rest of the extra virgin olive oil. Give it a nice toss — a mantecatura — until everything is incorporated. The water-sauce will be whipped with the olive oil into a perfect emulsion of oil, water and starch. Serve immediately.

Tips

Choosing the olive oil

The hero here is the extra virgin olive oil. Choose one made with hand-picked, cold-pressed olives, and remember: olio extravergine d'oliva is best when fresh. A robust, even spicy extra virgin olive oil typical of Southern Italy adds to the kick.