Okay, so I’m revealing a Big Secret here, and given the sometime crankiness of the staff at the restaurant in question, I would recommend you not blab too loudly.  Just sayin’.

Anyways, given our Old Married Couple status, Alan and I are known to visit a particular restaurant and have the same darned thing every time.  Sometimes its because its the best thing on the menu, sometimes because its just really good.  In the case of this dish, both things are true.

I’ve tried to make this simple dish several times, and have always come up short.  It is simple:  rotini pasta, with olive oil and garlic, optionally with thinly-sliced hot chiles, topped with lots of Parmaggiano-reggiano cheese.  But during our last visit, after politely asking for the secret, our waiter revealed it to us.  I didn’t promise not to tell, so I think I’m on safe ground here.  The trick is not to overcook the garlic.  That’s it.

Items

  • 1 lb rotini pasta
  • 6-8 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (or more if you’re a garlic junkie like me)
  • 4 TB olive oil
  • 1/2 cup Kraft Parmesean cheese (the green can, trust me its better, and you don’t have to tell)
  • 1 small thinly-sliced hot chile or 1 tsp dried red chile flakes (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Start the pasta in plenty of salted water.
  2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
  3. Add the garlic to the pan, keeping the heat high enough to get the garlic slightly browned but not burned.  This will take about 30 seconds.  The trick is not to overcook the garlic.
  4. Add the chile slices just at the end to heat them through (you can just add the dried red pepper flakes when you put the dish together).
  5. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
  6. Toss the pasta with the sauteed garlic, adding some of the reserved pasta water, salt, pepper, and cheese to taste.

Serves 4-6.