AGLIO OLIO

So, you've mastered the art of rolling your own fresh pasta (click here to see my previous post).

Here is a simple sauce sauce recipe that will allow you to appreciate fresh pasta's exquisite flavour and delicate, springy texture.

It's called aglio olio, a simple and quick sauce of fruity, extra-virgin olive oil and garlic that is seasoned with fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley, salt, freshly cracked pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

AGLIO OLIO
(SIMPLE OIL AND GARLIC SAUCE FOR PASTA)

This recipe goes together in a flash, so make sure you have the table set, your pasta rolled and cut and all of your sauce ingredients measured, chopped and ready to go before you start to cook.

What you'll need:
75 ml (1/3 cup) best quality extra-virgin olive oil
4 fat cloves of garlic, crushed and coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
125 ml (1/2 cup) loosely packed and coarsely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 batch homemade fresh pasta, uncooked
175 ml (3/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (please, do not use the dry powdered kind sold in the shaker cans)

What to do:
Prepare fresh pasta noodles as described here, but don't cook them just yet.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Stir in a teaspoon or so of salt amd taste the water. It should be lightly salty, but not overly so.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté it lightly, but take care that it doesn’t burn. Light, golden garlic is sweet and fragrant, brown garlic will taste strong and bitter.

While the garlic is sauteeing in the oil, gently drop the pasta into the pot boiling water and let it cook for a minute or so, then use a spaghetti ladle to scoop the pasta directly from the water into the hot garlic oil in the skillet. Gently toss the pasta in the hot oil, ladling in a splash or two of the hot pasta-cooking water to the pasta. Season well with freshly cracked pepper and scatter chopped parsley and parmesan cheese over everything. Give the skillet a final toss (you can add an extra splash of the pasta cooking water if you find the mixture too dry) and slide the noodles onto a warm platter or pasta bowl. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

VARIATIONS:
You can jazz up a basic aglio olio in an infinite number of ways. Here are just a few ideas:
Olives and capers: Pit and coarsely chop 125 ml (1/2 cup) black olives. Add these and about 15 ml (1 tbsp) of chopped capers to the hot pasta and aglio olio. Finish with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Sundried tomato, white beans and parmesan: Coarsely chop about 75 ml (1/3 of a cup) of sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed). Rinse and drain 250 ml (1 cup) of white cannellini beans. Add these to the garlic and oil before tossing with pasta. Finish with grated parmesan.
Spice it up: Add a couple of pinches of crushed red pepper flakes to the oil and garlic.
Fresh herbs: Toss fresh herbs such as torn basil, oregano or thyme leaves with the hot pasta and aglio oliojust before serving.
Mushrooms, white wine, lemon and thyme: Sautee some thinly sliced mushrooms in butter until they have released all of their liquid. Set aside. Prepare the pasta and the aglio olio. Toss together the pasta and the aglio olio. Add mushrooms and add a splash of white wine. Scatter grated parmesan cheese and fresh thyme leaves over the top and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a light grating of fresh lemon zest.