Fettucine aglio e olio…(with garlic and oil)
Before there were tomatoes in Italian cooking…there was pasta, olive oil & garlic
~ 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
~ 4 Large cloves garlic, lightly crushed (or 6 small to med cloves)
~ Crushed red pepper flakes…how much depends on the pepper and your personal taste…I use about a heaping tsp
~ 1 tblsp dried oregano ( you can sub fresh herbs here…but you’d need to add them at the end of the dish just before serving)
~ 1 tsp dried basil
~ 1 tsp dried parsley
Combine all above ingredients, stir once or twice, then heat in a small sauce pan on very Low heat. As the garlic lightly sizzles, halfway thru the cycle it will plump up.
At this point…crush the cloves further to get all the pulp out. I use a small fork for this. Let sizzle in the oil until the garlic turn a light golden brown.
Remove garlic from the hot oil and dispose of. Set the oil aside (whole process takes about 20-25 min)
~ Boil 1 lb dried fettucine pasta in salted water for however long it requires
~ Thoroughly drain the pasta and put it back in the pot.
~ Pour oil and herb mixture over the pasta and mix thoroughly
~ Put lid on pot and let stand for 10 min
Serve with grated parmesan reggiano, sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper over the top. Serves 3-4
We usually drink a Chianti or Chianti Classico with this meal. But anything dry and tart (winewise) would work.