This is my New World take on Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, the legendary pasta dish!
A few years ago, my husband and I savored a plate of Spaghetti Aglio e Olio while dining in the equally legendary Venetian restaurant, Locanda Montin. The dish was so simple: no parsley or cheese thrown on top. The pasta was tossed with fruity olive oil, garlic (loads of it), red pepper flakes and salt – nothing more. We ordered a bowl to share. Within 5 minutes we’d devoured every strand of spaghetti, so we ordered a second bowl. When our server came around to see if we wanted to order dessert, we ordered a third bowl!
Needless to say, we’ve never forgotten the experience or the taste.
This New World version of Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is as simple as the original, but it’s spiced-up with jalapeño peppers instead of red pepper flakes. As the jalapeños pan-fry, they become mellow, smoky, sweet; infusing the oil and the pasta with all their spunkiness.
A word of warning, make sure to test your jalapeños before you make this recipe (taste the tip of one pepper and it’ll give you an idea of its strength). I find most commercial jalapeños fairly mild, but now and then you come across some that are quite fiery!
So here’s to Spaghetti Aglio e Olio’s new incarnation – a bowl of pasta that might be zen-like, but that is undoubtedly memorable. —Viviane Bauquet Farre
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