Can all the Bostonians/New Englanders/Northeast Corridorites agree that the rain is getting just a tad old… I’ve only been back for 3 days and it’s already wearing on me, so I can’t imagine what it’s doing to those of you that have been enduring this for a week now.

 

Which is why, I thought that a little summery, sunshiney pasta dish would be just the thing to make us all feel, if not believe, that the warm weather really is right around the corner.

 

I know I say this about a lot of things, but Aglio e Olio really is my to-die-for dish. It easily makes the list of top 5 foods I would take with me to a desert island, not to mention the fact that it holds a bit of sentimental nostalgia for me.

 

Back when I first started cooking for myself (a subject that has been coming up quite a bit recently), aglio e olio was my premiere go-to for weeknight dinners. It had all of the characteristics of a perfect meal:

 

1. Simplicity
2. Deliciousness
3. It used beautiful fresh ingredients and allowed them to come through
4. It required almost no real skill but still made me feel supremely competent, which is a feat not achieved by most recipes.

 

It should also be mentioned that there is a very unique synergy to this dish, an alchemy achieved by the blend of ingredients that is hard to achieve when even one is omitted. Luckily, most of the ingredients happen to be staples, so there is no great chance that you will be without one, but do make the effort to use them all, nonetheless.

 

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Algio e Olio, Serves 2

 

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 20 Minutes

 

Ingredients:

 

½ lb. Linguine

3 Tbls. Olive Oil

6 Cloves Garlic, rough chopped

¼ Cup Parmesan, grated

½ Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1 Lemon, juiced

1/3 Cup Parsley, rough chopped

½ Tsp. Sea Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

3 Tbls. Best Quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Salt for boiling pasta

 

Preparation:

 

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

 

Over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil and sweat the garlic for 15 minutes in a large saute pan. (I’m adding a Glossary Page for these terms, but sweating garlic means that you cook it over very low heat to infuse the oil with its flavor; there should be no activity in the pan, no sizzling. The only evidence that anything is happening will be a wonderful, light garlic smell that permeates the kitchen after about 5 minutes.)

 

Once the water has come to a boil, add the linguine and cook for 7 minutes.

 

Once the linguine has cooked, drain the pasta, but leave it very damp as the cooking water will help the sauce to glide easily over the noodles.

 

Toss the linguine into the saute pan, still over the heat. Add the parmesan, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and mix well to the coat the linguine with tongs.

 

Serve with extra parmesan cheese and enjoy!