Pasta Aglio e Olio..one of my favorite things ever!

Hey everyone, this dish is one of those dishes where I could never be tired of it, and it is beyond simple to make. In my opinion, the beauty of real Italian food lies within the simplicity and balance of ingredients. Everything just melds together and plays off one another.

Spaghetti Aglio e olio is literally spaghetti, garlic, and olive oil. A couple other things are added of course and you have to cook everything just right, but it's surprisingly delicious as it is cheap. I have been making this one for years, and it is one of my all-time favorites.

To make the dish the first thing you want to do is get the water started for the pasta. Get that pot going because once we start this dish will be ready in a matter of minutes. Once the water for the pasta is on the stove (don't put in the spaghetti yet), put a sautee pan on medium-low heat then add a good amount of olive oil since it's one of the main ingredients. Thinly slice a few big cloves of garlic then add to the pan along with a couple hits of red chili flake.

Watch the garlic in the pan very carefully as we want to toast the garlic and make it golden, not burn it. If you think the pan starts getting too hot then lower the heat or take the pan off the heat itself. This will take a few minutes so now add your pasta to the boiling water and cook it to al dente.

Just keep your eye on that garlic and once your pasta is cooked to where you want it, simply add it to the pan (a little water is okay but not too much or we'll dilute the oil). Toss the pasta, add a fresh squeeze of lemon juice for some acidity, then add in some fresh chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley for some freshness and color. Make sure to season with coarse sea salt to your liking of course.

Voila! It is done. You have just made one of the best-tasting dishes ever. Good on you! I like to add a few seared sea scallops to my dish but you can leave it as is or add whatever you like.