Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

Many Italians prepare Sapghetti Aglio e Olio for lunch, when they have to return to work in a short time. Others use it when they are on a diet, because it allows them to enjoy a good dish using only healthy ingredients. It is also great dish for when you're on a budget.

In Italy, spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino is also often referred to as “midnight spaghetti”.

It’s especially popular among students. Mainly because it doesn't require any cooking skills and you always have all the ingredients available. So it’s easy to make aglio e olio pasta even at midnight, when you just got home and even if there’s a big crowd to feed.

What Is Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Spaghetti aglio e olio is a typical recipe of Neapolitan cuisine. It is part of the so called “cucina piccina partenopea”, which included many simple meals that people from Naples prepared with just a few ingredients. 

It is also one of the most famous “piatti poveri” which translates from Italian as “poor man’s dishes”. As the name suggests, these dishes were usually eaten by the poorest people, who had nearly nothing and could cook with what they could find.

In spite of the rich, the ingredients that were used for these dishes were super healthy and usually didn’t require a lot of preparation time.

Other piatti poveri include pappa al pomodoro, panzanella salad, passatelli (but not how we know them now) and cipollata. 

Spaghetti aglio e olio is probably the simplest Italian recipe. It may seem too easy to be good, but I can assure you that you’ll never get tired of it. 

Here’s how to make a plate of perfect pasta aglio e olio even if you’ve never made it before.

Ingredients

• Spaghetti or other long type of pasta
• Garlic (aglio in Italian)
• Extra virgin olive oil (olio in Italian)
• Chili pepper/hot pepper - fresh or dried (peperoncino in Italian)
• Parsley - while it’s not the absolutely necessary ingredient of pasta aglio e olio it’s still used in 99% of the times. It add a little extra flavor and bright colors to the whole plate.

FUN FACT: Some say that Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino made with all the ingredients listed above is nothing else but a poor man’s version of Spaghetti with Clams - but without clams.

How To Plate Spaghetti

Pick as much spaghetti from the pan as you can using preferably straight long food tongs, place them in a soup laddle and twirl until you get a spaghetti nest. Gently transfer spaghetti on a plate (see photo below).

Here's what a perfectly plated bowl of spaghetti looks like.

Possible Variations/ Add-Ons

This is also a dish that people like to improvise with, so there are some less orthodox (but not any less good) variations. 

• Anchovies. In addition to basic ingredients for spaghetti aglio e olio some like to add a fillet of anchovy. This does not go against tradition, because anchovy has always been really easy to fish near Naples, and it is likely that people added this ingredient even in older times. If you want to do that too, you should add your fillet after the garlic starts to brown. Stir it with well with a wooden spoon until it melts, then add the spaghetti. 
• Breadcrumbs. Others add a bit of toasted breadcrumbs to give it a little crunch. It serves almost as grated Parmesan cheese in other pasta recipes that is added for finishing.
• Lemon zest. Many, for example, add grated lemon zest at the end of the cooking process to add a fresh flavor. Try it during the summer!
• Bottarga - cued fish roe. In fact, adding bottarga to aglio olio e peperoncino essentially transforms it into Spaghetti Alla Bottarga - typical pasta from Sardinia.
• If you have your favorite add-on to spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino I’d love to know!