Have you ever had one of those days on which work just never seems to end. There are deadlines to meet, grocery runs, dishes in the sink, laundry to fold (most dreadful) and innocent hungry mouths to feed. Every mom needs a handful of quick, easy to make recipes, specially for these kind of days.

My idea of a quick simple recipe is 5 ingredients or less, minimum use of utensils (no more dirty dishes please!) and it should be cooked in under 30 minutes! All this without any compromise on flavor. If the food doesn’t taste good, why bother? Have some 2 minute instant noodles instead.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is a classic Italian pasta dish. Al dente spaghetti tossed in a chilli and garlic infused oil, delizioso! The phrase ‘aglio e olio’ means oil and garlic and that’s almost all there is to this recipe except for ‘peperoncino’ or red hot chilli peppers that add tasteful heat to this exquisite meal.

Ingredients

• Spaghetti 400g
• Garlic 6 cloves (thinly sliced)
• Olive Oil 1/2 cup
• Red Chillies 2 (can be substituted by 1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper 1/4 tsp
• Grated Parmesan Cheese 1 cup

Method

Boil spaghetti as per instructions given on the pack. Drain water and keep aside.

Infusing garlic into oil requires some attention. If the garlic is left too pale, it may not infuse enough flavor into the oil. If it’s left for too long and goes dark, it becomes bitter. To ensure it’s perfect take olive oil in a pan and add garlic slices to it before switching on the heat. Turn the heat on to medium. When the oil starts to bubble reduce heat to low. Keep on low heat till the garlic slices turn a nice golden brown colour. Add sliced chillies and remove from heat after 30 seconds or else the chillies will burn.

Mix flavoured oil and half of the Parmesan cheese into the spaghetti. Season with salt and pepper and give it a good toss. Serve hot with remaining cheese sprinkled on top. A quick simple meal as promised 🙂