Not the Classic ‘Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino’

We all know the classic ‘Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino’ recipe which is really good and super-easy to make. Today I wanted to make it in a different way, so I used a black garlic head in addition to a clove of the white one. The result is a delicate combination of spicy and sweet flavour that I personally loved.

The black garlic has a soft, slightly chewy texture. It contains higher amounts of antioxidants and fiber than the white one.

The classic ‘Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino’ is also known as ‘Midnight Spaghetti’ because we Italians usually cook it at late night when we come back home hungry from a night out.

Ingredients for 2 people

160g Spaghetti
1 Black garlic head*
1 Clove white garlic
3 Anchovies (optional)
1 Fresh Chili
A sprinkling of dry chili
Evo Oil
Parsley with stems
Salt

Method

1. 1. 1. Peel the black garlic and mash it with the heel of the knife
      2. In a large pan, sauté gently the poached white garlic clove, the (previously washed) parsley stems**, the anchovies and the dry chili with EVO oil over a low heat. Cook them slowly
      3. After a few minutes, once the oil is flavoured, remove the parsley stems and the other ingredients from the oil
      4. Add in the flavoured oil the black garlic mash and the fresh chili cut into small pieces. Sauté them over a low heat for a few minutes
      5. Set a large pot of water to boil over high heat, add salt once it starts boiling
      6. Cook the past in boiling salted water until it s is barely al dente (2-3 minutes will be enough). We will finish cooking the pasta in the pan***
      7. Use tongs to transfer boiled pasta into the pan with the flavour oil, black garlic and fresh chili. Reserve the cooking water
      8. Add a little of starchy boiling pasta water in the pan and toss continuously over high heat. Once the water will be absorbed, add a little more water, toss and repeat it until pasta is cooked “al dente”**** –  At the end, the water needs to be completely absorbed, the pasta is cooked with a creamy consistency
      9. Add fresh parsley and serve immediately

    

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   A post shared by Raffaella Calabria (@foodiewithsuitcase) on Jun 6, 2020 at 4:54am PDT

   Buon Appetito!

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   Note:

   * You can buy the black garlic on Amazon

   **Parsley stems give more flavour. 

   ***This cooking technique, called “mantecare”, causes the starch inside the pasta to get released creating a creamy consistency. It can be used for oil-based sauces only such as Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino and creamy sauces such as Cacio e Pepe or Spaghetti alle Vongole.

   **** To make pasta al dente, cook it about two minutes short of the cooking time written on the box. Start counting the minutes from when you put it in boing water.

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