I am a huge fan of this dish.  So much, I’ve already posted this recipe twice on my site at Pasta with Garlic and Oil and Linguine with Garlic and Oil. It is basically the same recipe from my friend Chef Ricco DeLuca but they are both worth checking out because of the different explanations provided with each post.

Now I have the opportunity to offer a third spaghetti aglio e olio (pasta and olive oil) from Chef Dawn Thomas who I just interviewed this week at my Novice2Pro chef interviews. Dawn’s recipe is very similar to Chef Ricco’s but she adds red chili flakes, parmesan cheese and substitutes basil for parsley.

What really distinguishes her recipe from Chef Ricco’s are the techniques used. Dawn thinly slices the garlic while Ricco browns it whole. Chef Ricco gets the pan and oil hot before starting while Dawn lets it heat gradually.

Is one technique better than the other? I think the cooking technique that works best for you and provides the flavor you are looking for is the one to stick with. Give both techniques a try and let me know which one you like best.

Dawn is from Canada and some of the terms she uses are different from what I may typically use. I’ll try to point these out.

Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil

Ingredients

1 - 2 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt for pasta water (1 tsp per quart of water)
1/2 pound (200 grams) pasta
1/2 cup cooking water (from pasta)
Salt (to taste)
2 - 4 fresh basil leaves
Parmesan cheese (to taste)

How to Make Spaghetti Aglio e Olio at Home

Timing is important when preparing this dish so have your ingredients prepped, equipment ready to go and have fun.

Preheat your oven to the lowest setting and bring a large pot of water to boil. While the water is heating, thinly slice (émincé) the garlic and measure out the chili flakes.

Place a large, non-stick skillet onto the stovetop and add half of the oil, followed by the garlic and chili flakes. At this point, don’t turn the heat on. Just let this sit while the pasta water comes to a boil.

Once the water has come to a boil, add the salt and stir. With the water at a rumbling boil, add the pasta, stirring so it doesn’t stick together.

Turn up the heat under your skillet to medium and let the garlic cook slowly. You’ll want to spread the garlic out in the pan a little so it cooks evenly but not too much or it may burn. As soon as you hear the garlic start to sizzle, remove it from the heat.

Heat your plates in the oven to warm up as the pasta finishes cooking. When the past is al-dente, remove and reserve ½ cup of cooking water, drain the pasta and add it to the pan with garlic and oil.

Raise the heat back to medium and add the reserved pasta water. Add a pinch of salt, tear and add the basil leaves over top. Toss and continue to cook for a few minutes until the water cooks off. Turn off the heat; add the remaining olive oil, some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and toss to combine.

Remove the warmed plates from the oven and portion out the pasta. Serve immediately with a touch more grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

To watch Chef Thomas demonstrate this recipe, go to Rouxbe.com

Related Topics

Pasta with Garlic and Oil

Linguine with Garlic and Oil

More Ideas for Pasta with Garlic and Oil

A Zest for Conquest

Hernando de Soto (ca. 1500- 1542) was a Spanish conquistador.  In other words, he was an invader and a pillager.  History and modern culture tend to lionize the early European conquerors, but let’s face it, their goal was to seize other people’s territory, plunder the natural resources, pilfer whatever valuables they could, and eliminate any natural inhabitants that stood in their way.

De Soto first distinguished himself in the conquest of Central America where he was known for his brutality.  Later he participated in the vanquishing of the Incas under Francisco Pizarro.  He then returned to Spain and delivered a large cache of gold and valuables to the Spanish monarchy, for which he was handsomely rewarded.

Back to the New World

He was then commissioned to return to the New World on a new quest.  His goal was to “explore” the southeastern US, which translates into finding trade routes to the Orient, claim additional lands for Spain, purloin more gold, and bump off any natives that resisted.

He landed in Florida in 1539 with over 600 men.  The exact route is debated but he traversed numerous southeastern states and eventually made his way to the Mississippi River, thus earning him the distinction of being the first European to discover it.

Along the way tens of thousands of American Indians died, either from direct skirmishes with de Soto’s men, or the spread of European diseases to which the Indians had no immunity, (e.g., measles, small pox and chicken pox).  De Soto himself succumbed to fever during the expedition in 1542.  His men buried his body in the Mississippi River to prevent the natives from desecrating it.

de Soto Introduces the Orange to the Americas

While lauded for his marauding endeavors and “discovery” of the Mississippi, de Soto is also credited for one lesser known fact:  the introduction of the orange to the Americas.  He brought orange trees to St. Augustine where they flourished, eventually giving rise to the large scale production that Florida is so well known for today.

Oranges originated in Southeast Asia and were first cultivated there 6,000 years ago.  Cultivation in China began around 2400 B.C.      The Arabs introduced them to the Mediterranean region about 1000 A.D.  Today they are found in warm weather areas all over the globe.  The US and Brazil are the largest producers.  Interestingly, the word “orange” meaning the color, comes from the fruit and not vice versa.

The Three Categories of Oranges

There are three general categories of oranges: sweet, loose skinned and bitter.

Sweet oranges, such as the Navel or Valencia, are best eaten fresh and are prized for their juice.  Their skins are somewhat resistant to peeling. Blood oranges are an interesting type of sweet orange, their sanguineous name arising from their crimson hue.

Loose skinned oranges, as the name implies, are easier to decorticate.  Mandarins and tangerines, (a sub-type of mandarin orange), are well known loose skinned varieties.  Their taste is slightly tarter than sweet oranges.

Finally bitter oranges, such as Seville or Bergamot, are sour and usually not eaten raw.  They are best for cooking, made into marmalade, candying their peels, and infusing liqueurs such as Curacao.

Oranges are available year round.  Choose specimens heavy for their size with no soft spots.  Color is a misleading indicator of quality as some producers infuse them with food coloring to make their oranges look, well, more orange.

The Zest Is Best for Flavoring

Oranges can be kept in the fridge up to two weeks.  As with all citrus fruits, the outer peel, known as the zest, can be utilized as well.  The flavor of the zest of citrus fruits is even more intense than their juice, since the zest contains the essential oils.  It is easily removed with a microplane grater.

It can then be incorporated into all kinds of recipes.  Extract only the outer most layer of the zest.  The white pith underneath it is very bitter.  Finally oranges are used in a variety of non-culinary products such as perfumes, furniture conditioners and cleaning agents.

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Grilled Mahi Mahi with Tomato-Orange Salsa

For the salsa:

2 large navel oranges, peeled, segments removed, chopped
3 large on-the-vine tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small batch of cilantro, stems included, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste

Combine all of the above ingredients and reserve.

For the Mahi Mahi:

4 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 jalapeno, finely minced
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 (6-oz.) Mahi Mahi steaks, (or substitute tuna or swordfish)

Thoroughly whisk all of the above ingredients, (except the fish) in a bowl.  Pour the mixture into a large zip-loc bag with the fish and marinate for no more than 30 minutes.  Remove the fish and drain off any of the marinade. Reserve the remaining marinade.

Grill or broil the fish until seared on each side.  Drizzle some of the reserved marinade on the fish while cooking.  Discard any marinade leftover that has not been cooked.  Serve the fish with the tomato-orange salsa.

Chef Mark R. Vogel
FoodForThought.com

It’s official. I’m now a fan of  Lidia Bastianich and her incredible knowledge of Italian cuisine along with her unique cooking techniques. For Christmas I received my first Lidia cookbook, Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy and I was blown away by her depth of culinary knowledge and ability to describe it.

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to get acquainted with her work. She is phenomenal. I was so excited after reading some of her recipes in this book and giving a few a try, I went out and purchased two more of her cookbooks, Lidia’s Italy and Lidia’s Family Table and can’t wait to write about what I’ve cooked from them.

This Tuna Genova Style or Tonno alla Genovese as Lidia calls it started with a trip to the Ardmore Farmers market on Saturday where my friendly fishmonger Andy was cutting up some gorgeous fresh tuna. I asked him when he thought the fish was caught and he thought maybe 3 or 4 days earlier. It looked terrific and again I will advise all home cooks to get to know your fish, meat and vegetable purveyors. They will direct you to the freshest ingredients and the best value of the day. Enough said.

I knew I wouldn’t be cooking the fish until Monday night so I asked Andy to cut me one piece that I could cut up into steaks later. As soon as I brought the tuna home, I vacuum sealed it in one of my favorite food gadgets, the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer. This tool has saved me a lot of money over time by prolonging the freshness of my cheeses, meats and any leftovers I freeze.

So you can see this whole meal started with my going to the Farmers market looking for something to cook and then finding the freshest ingredients available. Once I had the tuna, I looked for ideas about how to cook and serve it.  Often I will glance through several cookbooks for ideas but this time I picked up Lidia’s cookbook and immediately found what I looking for. This is how I typically decide how and what to cook.

We served the Tuna Genova Style with white rice and Brussels sprouts blanched and then sautéed with bacon and finished in the oven. A delicious meal we all enjoyed including the kids.

Tuna Genova Style
Adapted from Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy

Ingredients

1½ pounds fresh tuna, cut into 2 large steaks
salt, to season the tuna
flour, to dredge the tuna in
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup of dried porcini mushrooms
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 small anchovy fillets (try anchovy paste if you don’t want to open up a whole can for 2 fillets)
1½ cups of dry white wine
juice from 1 small lemon
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to finish the sauce
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped.

How to Make Tuna Genova Style at Home

I made the sauce separately from the tuna only because I wanted to get it done before everyone was ready for me to make dinner. In the end I just added the sauce to the pan the tuna cooked in and finished the recipe. Next time I would prepare the entire dish in one pan as Lidia does.

Start by soaking the dried porcini mushrooms in a cup of water. Next season the tuna steaks with salt on both sides and dredge in flour being sure to coat both sides but more importantly, shaking off any excess flour.

Heat a frying pan large enough to hold both steaks over medium-high heat until hot. Add 4 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil and let that get hot but not smoking.

Add the tuna to the pan and pan fry for about 1 minute. Flip the tuna steaks over and cook on the other side for another minute to minute and a half. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the tuna to a plate to keep warm while you make the sauce. I covered the fish with aluminum foil.

Start the Sauce

Remove the soaking mushrooms from the water but don’t throw the water out. We will use it in the sauce. Chop up the porcini mushrooms to fine pieces.

Add the frying pan back to the burner over medium high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let it get hot. Add the crushed garlic, chopped anchovy fillets and chopped up porcini mushrooms.

When those ingredients start to sizzle, add the white wine, lemon juice and the water the porcini mushrooms soaked in. I used a funnel lined with a paper towel to remove any sediment from the water. I would have liked to use a coffee filter in a funnel but couldn’t find any.

Add the thyme sprigs and season with a little salt. Bring the sauce to a low boil and cook until it is reduced by half.

Finish the Tuna Steaks

When the sauce is reduced by half, add the tuna steaks back into the pan and be sure to pour any juices from the resting tuna into the sauce.  Let the tuna cook in the sauce for about a minute, flip and cook the steaks on the other side for another minute. If you like your tuna more well done, let it cook longer.

People ask me all the time how long is longer. I wish I could tell you but it depends on the stove you are using, the pan, the thickness of the fish and much more. The best I can tell you is over time you will get a feel for it. You can always cut into a piece if you have to know, but I don’t like doing that because you are letting a lot of the juices escape. This is even more a problem with meat and chicken.

Extra Flavor

Now to add even more flavor to the sauce, add 2 tablespoons of butter or extra virgin olive oil to the pan and stir to combine the flavors. Remove the pan from the heat, add the parsley, give a quick stir and you are ready to serve.

I put a couple of spoonfuls of rice in the center of the plate, topped with a tuna steak and spooned the sauce around the sides of the fish and some on top. The Brussels sprouts were tastefully arranged on the side of the plate.

This is a very delicious meal I encourage you to try it and be sure to check out Lida’s cookbooks. I may create a page dedicated to her, the recipes I try from her cookbooks and some of the little cooking techniques she offers.

Let me know how you like this recipe.