The simplest recipes are often the favourites. Among the ones with the most views on this website are croque monsieur (a.k.a. toasted ham & cheese sandwich) and affogato (ice cream ‘drowned’ in coffee and liqueur) – hardly recipes at all. Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino is another of my super simple favourites for those nights when you need something tasty but really don’t feel like cooking. Spaghetti tossed with garlic (aglio), olive oil (olio) and chilli (peperoncino) – it sounds too simple but it’s so delicious! Add a little more dried chilli flakes if you like it really spicy. And to drink? I love the delicious clarete from Alegre y Valgañon – an almost lost Spanish wine style made by macerating white and red grape juice on red skins for a few days to produce a slightly textural, dry, pale pink wine. See the video below for all you need to know to cook pasta perfectly every time.
Serves 4
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Aglio, olio e peperoncino literally means ‘garlic, oil and chilli’. It’s one of Italy’s most basic, classic pasta sauces.
This simple pasta dish is from the southern Italian regions of Campania and Calabria, where dried chilli flakes are often added to dishes instead of pepper.
Spaghetti is typically used for this dish, but any long thin dried pasta, such as linguine, bucatini or bavette, works well.
