The recipe
2 servings20 minutes
Ingredients
- 200 g spaghetti
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Chilli flakes to taste
- Salt for the cooking water
- optional: chopped parsley
Method
- Cook the spaghetti in salted water. Taste towards the end of the packet time. Reserve a cup of cooking water.
- Meanwhile, warm olive oil, garlic and chilli in a wide pan over low to medium heat. Let the garlic colour only lightly.
- Transfer the still-firm spaghetti to the pan. Add around 3–4 tbsp of cooking water and toss or stir vigorously.
- Add more cooking water if needed. Taste, add parsley if using and serve immediately.
Cook the garlic gently
Do not let the oil smoke. Thin garlic slices flavour the oil over moderate heat; darkly fried garlic quickly becomes bitter. If the pasta is not ready, take the pan off the heat.
Bring the sauce together at the end
Tossing cooking water with the oil creates a light sauce. Begin with a small amount and add more as needed. The pasta should look glossy, rather than sit in a large puddle. It is easier to add heat from chilli than remove it.