Aglio e Olio

My own recipe. It’s five ingredients, it’s fast, and it’s the thing I make when the day has been long.

Ingredients

• ~1 lb long pasta (spaghetti, bucatini, whatever is in your pantry)
• ½ cup olive oil (get some good stuff for this, trust)
• 6–8 garlic cloves (but we both know you’ll do more), sliced as thinly as you’re comfortable with. Had a long day? Send them through a garlic press and cook at a lower temperature. It’s all good.
• ⅓–½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped pretty finely
• 1 lemon
• Optional: crushed red pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1–2 cups of pasta water.
2. In a cold pan, add the olive oil and garlic. Heat at low to medium. Pressed for time (aka hungry)? Medium. Want the full flavor? Keep it low-medium.
3. You’re infusing the oil with garlic, so stir it around. It’s done when it tastes right or the garlic turns golden brown. Add crushed red pepper here if you want heat.
4. Add the pasta and toss in the oil, adding pasta water little by little until it’s coated and shiny (you won’t need all of it).
5. This is where I salt. Be a bit aggressive; it pulls out that garlic and olive oil flavor.
6. Off the heat, add the parsley and toss.
7. Finish with lemon juice and more salt to taste.

Enjoy it on its own, with a protein, under a pile of parmigiano, whatever you want. There are no rules.

Wine pairing: call me crazy, but a dry rosé. It weirdly works.