Pasta aglio e olio is the Italian name of the most delicious summer dish: pasta with garlic and olive oil.

No need to say that I’m a garlic lover, killer, you name it and if it’s related to garlic, that’s me.

Pasta aglio e olio is not only my favorite comfort food: the food that I want to eat when I’m extremely happy and the food I want if I’m stressed or sad too.

Pasta with olive oil and garlic is also my favorite food, over all the food that can be eaten on this Earth. Sometimes I found myself asking: Do you mind if I do pasta with olive oil and garlic…again? Fortunately, I never get a no for an answer because we all love pasta aglio e olio.

This recipe proves, one more time, that the simpler the better. You just need six ingredients, including salt and crushed red pepper to create a light yet flavorful dish.

The first thing is to flavor the olive oil by sautéing the garlic. For many years I wrongly believed that garlic should be only sautéed until golden. By avoiding the garlic to get brown, I thought I would prevent the oil from getting a bitter flavor. Wrong!

One day, by mistake I let the garlic to get really brownish —almost burned, I would say— and instead of discarding it, I decided to use it. The result: crunchy garlic chips and the best pasta aglio e olio ever!

To contrast with the strong garlic flavor, parsley is the key ingredient. When I first began having this pasta I used to sprinkle some minced parsley on my plate.

Now I like to add parsley not as a garnish, but as a “main” ingredient. Its fresh crispiness perfectly balances the crunchy tart flavor of the garlic.

I like this pasta either with Capelli d’Angelo (Angel’s Hair) or Vermicelli and guess what: dinner can be done un 10 minutes! B I N G O!
How to make pasta aglio e olio

To make this delicious pasta aglio e olio, you’ll need some kitchen tools and ingredients easy to find online using my Amazon Affiliate Program:
- Cutting Board
- Chef knives
- Pan
- Pasta pot and strainer
- Pasta server
- Vermicelli or Capellini
- Olive oil
- Red pepper flakes
Following is my recipe. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Pasta aglio e olio
Ingredients
- 1 package of Angel Hair or Vermicelli
- ¾ cup of olive oil
- 10-12 garlic cloves finely sliced
- 1 cup curled parsley coarsely chopped
- Coarse sea salt
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
Instructions
- n pot over high heat, put the water to cook the pasta to boil.
- Add the olive oil to a saucepan on medium heat and sauté the garlic for about 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside.
- In the meantime, add salt to the water and cook the pasta al dente.
- When the pasta is done, strain it. To stop the cooking, let some fresh water run on top of the pasta and strain it again.
- Put the pasta in a bowl, add the olive oil and garlic, season with salt to taste, add parsley and stir.
- Serve warm with red pepper flakes and cheese.
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Check some of my favorite pasta recipes:
- Anchovy and Zucchini Linguine
- Linguine alla Puttanesca
- Pasta all’amatriciana
- Pasta al filetto di pomodoro
- Pasta Primavera with Anchovy Creme
- Penne all’arrabbiata
- Pumpkin Tagliatelle Alfredo