Recipe: This divine pasta Aglio e Olio will make your weekend

It is the weekend and it means that everybody is in the mood to eat something exquisite, but we understand that you are also taking lazying around quite seriously and are not willing to prepare something that will take two hours to cook and leave your kitchen in a mess. We totally understand that and believe us, we are right there with you.

However, we have the perfect win-win solution for this sticky situation and it is called pasta Aglio e Olio. Yup, that is correct, the famous traditional Italian pasta dish from Naples which is quite easy to prepare at home.

It is one of the simplest pastas to make and also the quickest one, but that does not mean that there is any compromise when it comes to taste. No sauces are required, just basic ingredients that you can find in your kitchen at any given time and your pasta is ready. So without wasting any more precious moments, let's just straight away dive into this quick recipe.

This recipe of pasta Aglio e Olio serves 3-4 people and requires only 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

450 g spaghetti

4-5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 bunch of parsley, finely minced

1/4 cup of olive oil

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Lemon zest (optional)

Parmesan (optional)

Method:

Boil a pot of water and add a handful of salt (make sure it tastes like the sea). Once the water starts boiling, drop your pasta in it and cook for 5 minutes until al dente. For the next step, drain the water from the pasta but make sure that you reserve two ladles of your pasta water for later use.

Put a large skillet on low flame and add your olive oil to it. While the oil is still at room temperature add your garlic and saute it until softened. Do not let your garlic turn brown. Now, add red pepper flakes and a little pasta water to the pan to stop the garlic from browning.

Finally, add your pasta and once you think it is cooked, add salt and pepper, and parsley. Serve on a plate and sprinkle some more parsley and a zest of lemon.

You can also make some tweaks to it by adding bacon, meatballs or prawns. It totally depends upon you. To enhance the taste further, you should sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top while the pasta is still hot.

(Recipe courtesy: Instagram/ pepper.ph)

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