You would think that a nice Italian girl from Connecticut would have known how to make this dish. But Nooooooooooooooooo. That tall, blonde, Swedish drink of water taught me this recipe. Actually, she cheated. She lived on the border of Switerzland and Italy for a time, and learned how to make it there.
I was watching "Lidia's Italy" the other night, and she made this recipe, and Ina Garten called it "midnight pasta" because its what you make when you get hungry after midnight. Guess it's just one of those classics.
Lidia did grind the pepper flakes into a powder, and I decided to try it that way because it I thought it would photograph better. (Nope, should have left the red pepper flakes as they were.) It's a pantry staple, oh so simple, and this is the first time I have even attempted to write it down. Use your best guess on the amounts.
Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic, sliced, crushed or minced, whatever you like
Dried Red Peppers, flakes, whole, ground in a spice grinder, whatever
Pasta (your choice, but we always did angel hair)
- Boil the pasta according to package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, you can put the sauce together.
- In a saute pan, heat the olive oil until it begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and the red pepper, and immediately lower the heat, or remove the pan from the heat. Stir. You don't want either the garlic or the red pepper to burn. If you sliced your garlic, you might want to let it saute just a bit more until it becomes golden, then toss in the red pepper.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta, toss and serve with parmesan cheese.