Italian · Naples
Aglio e Olio
Spaghetti aglio e olio is a 1am dish — the food of Naples at midnight, made from what is always in the kitchen. Spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, dried chilli, parsley, pasta water. The emulsion of oil and starchy pasta water is the sauce — not a garnish, a sauce. Executed with precision, it is one of the great pasta dishes. Executed carelessly — burnt garlic, insufficient pasta water, no emulsification — it is a plate of oily noodles.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
dried spaghetti
Your own market
120 ml
extra virgin olive oil
first cold-pressed, peppery finish preferred
Your own market
12 cloves
garlic
thinly sliced on a mandoline
Your own market
3 g
Aleppo pepper
or 2 g dried red chili flakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
8 g
sea salt
Your own market
2 g
Tellicherry black pepper
freshly ground
Your own market
15 g
fresh parsley
flat-leaf, roughly chopped — optional
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil and add spaghetti, stirring immediately.
2
While pasta cooks, combine olive oil and sliced garlic in a large skillet over low heat; infuse gently for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally until garlic is pale golden and fragrant (do not brown).
3
Add Aleppo pepper to the oil and stir for 30 seconds until distributed.
4
Drain pasta when al dente, reserving 240 ml pasta cooking water.
5
Transfer hot pasta directly into the garlic oil; toss continuously while adding pasta water in 60 ml increments until emulsion forms and coats spaghetti (3 minutes).
From the canon — Pasta cooking water contains dissolved starch (released from the pasta surface during boiling) at a concentration that increases with pasta-to-water ratio an… Pasta Water: Starch Concentration and Sauce Binding →
6
Season with sea salt and Tellicherry pepper; toss once more and serve immediately in heated bowls.
7
Finish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where aglio e olio lives or dies is the 30 seconds the garlic is in the oil — this is the entire technique of the dish. The oil must be over medium heat. The garlic goes in cold-oil or warm-oil (not screaming hot). Watch the edges first — they colour before the centre. The moment the edges turn pale gold, add the chilli, let it bloom for 10 seconds, then add pasta water. The temperature drops, the emulsification begins. The garlic finishes cooking in the water-oil emulsion, arriving at sweetness rather than bitterness.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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