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The sauce, Aglio e Olio, for this dish becomes the “mother sauce” (the basis) for Puttanesca sauce. It is also the first sauce my mother taught me to make. It is deceptively simple – just garlic and extra-virgin olive oil with just enough red pepper to wake up your taste buds. You’ll find that the Alice (Ah-leach, Italian for anchovy) completely dissolves during cooking leaving behind a nutty, salty (not fishy taste).
1. About an hour before starting the Aglio e Olio sauce place the olive oil in a small bowl. Micro-plane 2 or 3 of the garlic cloves into it and place the red pepper flakes into it also. Set the bowl aside and allow the oil to infuse with the flavour of the garlic and the heat of the red pepper flakes.
2. After the oil has had time to infuse… In a small saucepan heat the infused oil (including the micro-planed garlic and red pepper flakes), and butter together over very low heat.
3. Finely chop the remaining garlic.
4. Add the infused oil and butter mixture to a large sauté pan (large enough to hold the volume of cooked spaghetti) over medium heat, add the chopped garlic and sauté it until it is soft and translucent (do not allow the garlic to brown!).
5. Meanwhile, bring a large volume of salted water to a rapid boil over high heat.
6. Lower the heat under the sauté pan to medium-low, and to the garlic mixture add the Alice (anchovies). Cook until the fish is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
7. When the water comes to a rapid boil, toss in the spaghetti and cook until the spaghetti is cooked al dente.
8. Drain the spaghetti and toss the cooked pasta into the sauce in the sauté pan. Sprinkle the “Aglio e Olio” with the parsley and toss to distribute the chopped parsley into the cooked pasta.
9. Optional step: If you’re going to add the beaten egg; while it’s still hot pour the spaghetti and sauce into a large spaghetti bowl (large enough to hold all the pasta and sauce). While pouring the beaten egg over the pasta with one hand, toss the pasta using a pair of tongs to distribute the egg throughout it. The hot pasta and sauce should cook the egg.
10. Serve immediately topped with grated cheese and the chiffonade basil accompanied by crusty Italian or French bread and extra grated cheese and red pepper flakes.
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