Get the Recipe: Spaghetti with Olive Oil and Garlic
Classic and simple spaghetti, with olive oil, red pepper flakes, parsley, Parmesan and lemon.
Ingredients
- 6 oz spaghetti, or other pasta
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, heaped, plus more, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Italian flat-leafed parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter, optional
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water for the pasta. Salt generously and cook pasta until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is tender and fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir to combine and set aside until the pasta is ready. (*Note: you can also cook the garlic longer, until it just starts to colour, for a more roasted garlic flavour to the dish).
- When pasta is ready, return the skillet to the heat over medium heat. Use tongs to remove the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to combine with the olive oil mixture. Add the parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest and butter, if using, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately with additional Parmesan, red pepper flakes and a lemon wedge, for drizzling, if you like.
Notes
Tips!
- You can change the flavour profile of this dish with one simple step - simply fry the garlic longer. If you fry the garlic until it starts to colour, you will introduce the flavour of roasted garlic to this pasta. So if you love roasted garlic flavour, definitely give that a try. One warning though, is to only fry it until it starts to colour, then add the lemon juice. That process and the residual heat from the pan will darken the garlic further. If you wait too long though, your garlic may scorch and introduce a bitter flavour, which isn't a pleasant one.
- Note that this recipe will make about 3-ish servings, but you can easily double or triple to feed more. Also, since the pasta is olive-oil coated, leftovers keep really well in the fridge and can be enjoyed later or re-purposed into a pasta salad or other pasta dish (just add tomatoes and make it a different delicious dish).
- This simple pasta can is great on its own, but you can switch it up with a splash of heavy cream at the end, for a creamy pasta or stir in a couple spoonfuls of pesto instead. Just be sure to add the pesto with the skillet off the heat, at the very end, as the heat will turn it dark.
- Don't forget to season this dish at the end of cooking with salt and freshly ground pepper, to really round out the flavours.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 443kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 174mg, Potassium: 160mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 232IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 120mg, Iron: 1mg
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