16 COOK’S COUNTRY • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019
Pasta
Aglio
e Olio
Would we be able
to create a silky, creamy
pasta dish without the
added cheese?
by Natalie Estrada
AGLIO E OLIO (“garlic and oil” in
Italian) are ingredients found in every
Italian American home cook’s pantry.
Pasta aglio e olio is a famous pasta dish
from Naples composed of these ingredi-
ents and not much else, save for perhaps
a bit of red chile and some parsley.
The folklore behind this dish ranges
from the mythical to the more plausible.
It has been said that Ferdinand IV of
Bourbon ordered the invention of the
fork with four tines so that he could eat
more pasta aglio e olio. Additionally,
the dish has been referred to as the poor
man’s alle vongole fujute (“spaghetti with
clams”—the clams have “escaped”).
Despite its simplicity, the dish has
evolved over the years, especially inthe United States. The pasta aglio
e olio many people know today
barely resembles its origins—heaping
amounts of Parmesan cheese, olive oil,
and heavy cream and overwhelming
heat from red pepper flakes. I wanted
to return this dish to its humble but
perfect roots.
It’s easy to understand why cooks
have introduced cheese and cream
to this recipe over the years. Melted
cheese is an easy way to create a homo-
geneous mixture, and the heavy cream
helps make a smooth, thick sauce that
does not separate. But I was deter-
mined to adhere to tradition as much
as possible.
My years in restaurant kitchens
taught me the importance of pay-
ing attention to the details. Treat the
ingredients carefully to make them
greater than the sum of their parts.
Research into aglio e olio confirmed
this. I’d have to cook the garlic low
and slow in the oil to truly highlight
its sweet and nutty notes and avoid the
bitterness that comes from burning it.
I would need just enough starch from
the pasta to help create the silkiness I
was after—to get it, I’d need to use the
pasta cooking water and some muscle
(agitating pasta with sauce ingredients
helps create a creamy texture as the
pasta starch thickens the sauce).
But my initial tests were disappoint-
ing. If I used too little pasta water, the
mixture quickly dried out as it sat. Too
much oil left an unpalatable glossy
sheen. Experimentation led me to the
answer: To achieve well-coated strands,
the best move was to slightly undercook
them in the water and then finish cook-
ing them in a mixture of garlicky oil and
reserved pasta water while continuously
tossing with tongs to help release more
starch and create a smooth sauce.
With so few ingredients (no cream
or cheese to hide behind), every
measurement mattered and every step
had to be strictly controlled. Instead of
using our standard pasta cooking ratio
(4 quarts water to 1 tablespoon salt), I
decided to use 3 quarts to concentrate
the amount of starch in the water.
Once the noodles were cooked
to slightly al dente in a Dutch oven,
drained, and returned to the pot with
a measured amount of starchy water, I
added that garlicky oil (slowly cooked
in a small saucepan) and stirred the lot
over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
This finished cooking the pasta, re-
leased additional starch to help create
the signature silkiness, and ensured
that the oil, garlic, and red pepper
flakes would be evenly dispersed. A
final 2-minute rest and a sprinkling of
parsley for color sealed the deal.Silky, creamy, balanced, and per-
fectly simple, this was the pasta I’d
been dreaming about—and I didn’t
even have to go grocery shopping.SPAGHETTI WITH GARLIC
AND OLIVE OIL
Serves 4 to 6
Be sure to use the 3 quarts of water
specified in the recipe for cooking
the pasta. The starch that the pasta
releases into the water is essential to
achieving the proper consistency in
the sauce.1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound spaghetti
Salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh
parsley- Heat oil and garlic in small saucepan
over medium-low heat until pale gold-
en and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Off
heat, stir in pepper flakes. Set aside. - Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts water to
boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta
and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring
often, until strands are flexible but still
very firm in center, about 5 minutes.
Reserve 3 cups cooking water, then
drain pasta. - Combine pasta, oil mixture, ½ tea-
spoon salt, and 2 cups reserved cooking
water in now-empty pot and bring to
boil over medium-high heat. Cook,
stirring often with tongs and folding
pasta over itself, until water is mostly
absorbed but still pools slightly in bot-
tom of pot, about 5 minutes. - Let pasta sit off heat for 2 minutes.
Stir in parsley and additional reserved
cooking water as needed (approxi-
mately ¼ cup) to adjust consistency
(noodles should be slightly wet, not
oily). Serve.
To coax the starch out of the pasta and into the sauce, toss like a boss.
Pale Gold Garlic
We precook the garlic in olive oil until it’s
fragrant and pale gold. This removes its
harsh edge and infuses the oil with flavor.