Simplicity is key when it comes to making this classic Italian garlic pasta called aglio e olio. With only 4 main ingredients, you'll be shocked at the flavor that's packed into this dish.
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Authentic Italian food is simple. This is something that came as a shock to me after going to culinary school in Italy.
Whether you're making parmesan risotto or bolognese ragu sauce, the principles of Italian cooking revolve around two ideas:
- Keep foods simple but delicious tasting.
- Use in-season, local ingredients.
These two key concepts are what makes Italian cooking so unique and tasty.
The same idea is used for this Italian garlic pasta called aglio e olio. With only 4 main ingredients, the garlic and pecorino cheese really shine in the dish.
This authentic and classic Italian pasta is perfect for a weeknight dinner (it can be made in under 20 minutes) yet also fancy enough for a dinner party or birthday.
I'll be sharing all my tips from Italian culinary school to ensure you know how to properly cook pasta at home.
Jump to:
What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- Why it's important to undercook pasta.
- How to properly saute pasta to make a creamy sauce.
- Helpful tips so you can cook pasta like an Italian.
Want to learn even more tricks for making the best Italian pasta? Sign up for my free email guide with 9 easy tips to improve your pasta.
Ingredients You Need
- Coarse sea salt: In Italy, I learned that it's best to salt pasta water with coarse sea salt. Always taste the pasta water (carefully of course, because it's hot), to ensure it's properly salted before adding the pasta.
- Spaghetti: Look for pasta that has minimal ingredients. The main ingredient should be durum wheat semolina flour.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Always choose an extra virgin olive oil that has a good taste (yes, you actually want to taste the oil on its own) so you know it will be delicious in the pasta.
- Garlic: Only use fresh garlic for this recipe. You'll need a sharp chef's knife to ensure it's thinly sliced.
- Pecorino cheese: This type of cheese is made from sheep's milk, and it's known for having a very salty taste. If you can't find pecorino, you can substitute for equal parts of parmesan cheese.
- Morton kosher salt/black pepper: It's always important to season food with salt and pepper. It helps to bring out the flavor of the other ingredients.
How To Make This Recipe
Here's how to make aglio e olio authentically, like the Italians do.
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously season with some coarse sea salt, then taste the water (carefully) to ensure it's seasoned well enough.
Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions until softened but still firm. We'll finish cooking the pasta with the sauce, so it's really important at this stage that the pasta is not overcooked.
2. Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, add extra virgin olive oil and garlic to a large saute pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook the garlic until it's softened. It's really important not to allow the garlic to take on color or it will become bitter.
If you hear the garlic start to sizzle, add in a ladle full of pasta water. This will help prevent the garlic from browning.
3. Transfer the cooked pasta over to the saute pan, but reserve the pasta water.
4. Now it's time to saute the pasta. This is the stage where we create a super creamy pasta sauce from an emulsion of extra virgin olive oil and starchy pasta water.
Turn the heat to high and saute the pasta while vigorously stirring with a wooden spoon. Add a ladle (about ¼ cup or 60 ml) of pasta water (pour it along the outside of the saute pan not directly on the pasta) and continue vigorously stirring.
5. Repeat this process two to three additional times, adding more pasta water when you hear sizzling until a creamy sauce forms and the pasta is al dente.
6. Finally, turn off the heat and toss pasta with pecorino cheese. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper.
Expert Tips
- When ladling pasta water onto the spaghetti, never pour it directly on the pasta. Rather, pour it along the outer edge of the pan. This will ensure none of the pasta becomes overcooked from directly pouring hot water on top.
- If you hear the pasta sizzling, that's your cue to add more pasta water to the pan.
- Don't overcook the pasta. Even after cooking the pasta in the pan with the sauce, it should still have a firm bite to it. You never want the pasta to be soft or mushy!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! My husband is gluten-free, so I have successfully recipe tested this dish with gluten-free spaghetti. You may need to adjust the cooking time on the spaghetti if you're using a gluten-free pasta.
No, I would not recommend using jarred garlic. The goal of Italian cooking is to use fresh ingredients that have a great taste. Unfortunately, jarred garlic is not going to result in the same great taste as fresh garlic.
The pasta has finished cooking once it's al dente (meaning it still has a bite to it) and the sauce has become creamy.
More Italian Pasta Recipes
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Aglio e Olio (Italian Garlic Pasta)
Equipment
- pot
- saute pan
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
- coarse sea salt
- 1 pound spaghetti
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bulbs garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup finely shredded pecorino cheese
- Morton kosher salt to taste
- finely ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously season with coarse sea salt. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions until slightly softened but still firm, about 6 - 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, as the pasta is cooking, add extra virgin olive oil and garlic to a large saute pan. Turn heat to medium low and cook garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Don’t allow the garlic to take on color or it will become bitter. If you hear the garlic start to sizzle, add in a ladle full of pasta water.
- Transfer the cooked pasta over to the saute pan (reserve the pasta water). Turn heat to high and saute the pasta while vigorously stirring with a wooden spoon. Add a ladle (about ¼ cup or 60 ml) of pasta water (pour along the outside of the saute pan not directly on the pasta) and continue vigorously stirring. Repeat this process two to three additional times, adding more pasta water when you hear sizzling until a creamy sauce forms and the pasta is al dente.
- Turn off the heat and toss pasta with pecorino. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately. Optionally garnish with additional pecorino.
Terri
I made this with you during the YouTube live and everyone in my family loved it!
Jessica Mode
I'm so glad you were able to cook along! This is one of my favorites too! 🙂