Jon finished stage one of the Dead Dog Classic in Laramie, WY in 6th place after having some confused (and probably very embarrassed) Cat 4 guy try to out sprint him on the finish line only to ram Jon's handlebar, sending him crashing to the pavement. Jon escaped with minor injuries and now feels bad for yelling at the guy.
Anyway, since Jon is commuting back and forth to Laramie I was tasked with having the pasta ready when he got home. Usually I ad lib my pasta sauces but this time I actually got out the cookbook and learned a valuable lesson from an extremely common Italian spaghetti preparation - aglio olio peperoncino. garlic oil pepper
For a pound of pasta, heat 1/4 - 1/2 cups of olive oil to nearly smoking. Add 5 lightly crushed garlic cloves for 1 minute (no longer!) and remove with a slotted spoon. Add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and saute for a minute more. Then- and this is key - carefully add 2 tablespoons of pasta water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then add the un-rinsed, cooked spaghetti and stir, adjust seasoning with additional salt and red pepper flakes. That's it.
You can also top with some fresh herbs (I used mint and basil from the garden) but it is not typical to add Parmesan. The oil really stands on its own as an interesting sauce, it almost tasted like spicy Italian sausage.
Anyway, since Jon is commuting back and forth to Laramie I was tasked with having the pasta ready when he got home. Usually I ad lib my pasta sauces but this time I actually got out the cookbook and learned a valuable lesson from an extremely common Italian spaghetti preparation - aglio olio peperoncino. garlic oil pepper
For a pound of pasta, heat 1/4 - 1/2 cups of olive oil to nearly smoking. Add 5 lightly crushed garlic cloves for 1 minute (no longer!) and remove with a slotted spoon. Add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and saute for a minute more. Then- and this is key - carefully add 2 tablespoons of pasta water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then add the un-rinsed, cooked spaghetti and stir, adjust seasoning with additional salt and red pepper flakes. That's it.
You can also top with some fresh herbs (I used mint and basil from the garden) but it is not typical to add Parmesan. The oil really stands on its own as an interesting sauce, it almost tasted like spicy Italian sausage.
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