Spaghetti Garlic, Olive Oil & Chili Flakes

Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino or said chili spaghetti. The pasta recipe with a bite of garlic, extra vergin olive oil and dried crushed chilies. These are the basic ingredients that gives a contribute of flavor and spiciness to a variety of Italian dishes.

A traditional, spicy hot Mediterranean recipe, though there's a funny dispute between Naples and Rome for the origin of this dish, but I don't mind form where it comes from.

This recipe is so simple and easy to make that you can prepare it even when you are in a rush, informal and uncomplicated but not tasteless. Good for vegetarians and if you are a hot spicy food lover this dish will completely satisfy you.

Ingredients: serves 4

• 1 lb (454g) spaghetti
• 2 big garlic cloves
• 3/4 cup (1/4 pt) (180ml) extra vergin olive oil
• 1 or 2 up to your taste, dried hot red chili or flakes
• 1/2 cup (113g) fresh parsley (optional)
• 2 tbsp (30g) sea salt

Preparation: easy 20 minutes

1. I set the water to boil in a pasta pot and by side the frying pan is ready.

2. Only when the water is boiling I add about 2 tablespoons of sea salt, drop spaghetti in and give a stir. It will take roughly 10-12 minutes to cook spaghetti al dente.

3. While spaghetti are cooking I start to heat the olive oil in a large pan (I use a non-stick one). I then slice the 2 garlic cloves in quarters, add  the chili flakes (or a chili broken in 2 or 3 small pieces).

4. After frying at low heat the garlic gets softer and I crush it with the wooden spoon against the pan. I keep frying until the garlic begins to turn golden it's only then that I remove the garlic from the pan.

5. In the meantime spaghetti are ready and it's time to drain them warm, smokey and already nice!

6. Just after draining I pour them back into the frying pan (remeber to remove the garlic if you haven't yet).

7. It's time to give the "boom" spiciness taste to the recipe so I start mixing and cooking for another couple of minutes not more.

8. Spaghetti aglio e olio are ready to be plated and served but before I break up by hand the parsley into small pieces so I give the plate a fresh taste and garnish.

If you like I add a little more of chili falkes before serving because I love it strong but that is just my taste. As you seen this is indeed an easy Italian spaghetti recipe which I often make!