Dr Mobeus
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Aglio e olio translates to garlic and oil, and that is genuinely the heart of this recipe. It is the dish Italian nonnas make when there is nothing else in the house, and it is proof that great food does not need expensive ingredients. At 60p per portion this is cheaper than a tin of soup and infinitely more satisfying. The trick is cooking the garlic gently – golden and sweet, not brown and bitter. Get that right and everything else falls into place.
Total cost: £1.20 (£0.60 per portion) – Serves 2 people. Prep: 5 mins | Cook: 10 mins
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
The classic Italian store-cupboard pasta that needs just five ingredients and 15 minutes. Garlic, oil, chilli and parsley turn plain spaghetti into something extraordinary for pennies.
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. Before draining, save a mugful of the pasta water.
- While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook gently for 2-3 minutes until golden - do not let it brown or it will turn bitter.
- Add the chilli flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the drained spaghetti to the pan with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss everything together over the heat for 1-2 minutes until the pasta is coated in the garlic oil.
- Remove from the heat, add the chopped parsley and toss again. Add more pasta water if it needs loosening.
- Serve immediately with black pepper and parmesan if using.
Tips and Variations
The garlic must be sliced, not crushed – you want thin golden discs, not paste. Use decent olive oil if you can – it is the main flavour so it matters more here than in most recipes. Add a tin of anchovies at the garlic stage if you want to take it up a level – they dissolve into the oil.
Is it cheaper to make this from scratch? Use our Cook vs Buy Calculator to compare the real cost of homemade vs shop-bought.
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