A family favorite oil based Italian pasta sauce and noodles, made with five simple ingredients, including fresh garlic and basil.
Italian Food
My husband served a mission when he was younger in Italy. The simplicity of the food there was amazing. He said so much of what they served and ate was made with a few simple ingredients and it was always delicious!
After he returned home, he lamented that nothing in the United States tasted the same as the food in Italy. Even simple things like bell peppers, seemed watered down here.
Italians have strict standards for their farming and they pride themselves on the freshness of their ingredients. Someday, I hope we will get to travel back to Italy together so I can taste what he dreams about.
Daddy’s Favorite Pasta
This recipe is one of the many simple recipes he learned while living there. It is a pasta dish! Imagine that! Its official name aglio, olio, peperoncino simply means – garlic, oil and pepper.
In our home, we refer to this meal as Daddy’s Favorite Pasta. It inherited this name when our kids were small and my husband made this pasta dish every Sunday afternoon for lunch. All my kids still love it to this day and gobble it up every time it is made.
I had to finally watch my husbands every move and take some measurements so I could write down his magic into a recipe. It’s one of those “a little of this” recipes. Those are always the best, when you can master them.
Pasta Choices
The longest part of this recipe is boiling the water and cooking the pasta.
Speaking of pasta, over the years we have changed the types of pasta we use. This recipe has worked well with all of the different pastas we have tried.
We love the Jovial brand gluten free spaghetti noodles. They are made in Italy, so of course they know what they are doing.
Costco carries an organic spaghetti made of Durum wheat, also made in Italy. It’s delicious as well. They also have pastas made from beans, sourdough and cassava flour. Find what your body needs and use it.
Parmesan choices
The recipe itself is dairy free but we never eat it at our house without a bit of parmesan cheese on top. Some people’s bits are way more than others. In fact, the 3 year old prefers his parmesan topped with a bit of pasta. Naughty.
If you need to be 100% dairy free, this cashew parmesan cheese is my favorite. I actually think it goes perfectly with this pasta. The recipe comes together quickly and it can be kept in the fridge for weeks to use in other recipes. (Here is a nut free version as well, if you need.)
However you enjoy it, I hope you love the simpleness and deliciousness of this recipe.
Aglio, Olio, Peperoncino Italian Pasta Dish
1 pound pasta of choice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves chopped or minced garlic (we prefer chopped in this recipe)
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cook the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta cooks, make the oil sauce.
In a small saucepan, over medium heat, add the oil, garlic and salt. Let the garlic cook one-two minutes until edges of garlic are just beginning to darken.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the basil and red pepper flakes. Stir and let sauce sit to meld the flavors together while the pasta finishes cooking.
When the pasta is finished cooking, drain the noodles, return them to the pot and pour the sauce over them. Stir to coat the noodles well. Serve immediately with sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
TWEAK IT NOTES
- DAIRY FREE- For dairy free parmesan cheese, I use this recipe for cashew parmesan cheese and we love it. This is also a simple one with no nuts, if nuts are a problem.
- ADD VEGGIES – We have thrown chopped broccoli in with the cooking pasta to bulk up the meal and add some greens to it. Its yummy.
- PASTA – Our favorite GF pasta is Jovial Brand.
