Aglio Olio

Here's what I had for a late lunch today. It's not much, but it was so shiok that I ended up being drenched in sweat - not from cooking the dish but eating it! There's great beauty to an Aglio Olio, and that it is in its simplicity and versatility. You can practically add in anything you want in this recipe (at your own risk!)

Pardon my lacklustre photos - moments before shooting it I realised my camera had ran out of battery. Had used the iPhone4S as substitute camera. 

I'm glad to find back some part of myself again. 

Below is the recipe I adapted from allrecipes.com.

Aglio Olio

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound uncooked spaghetti
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• Some bacon/lean meat
• 1/8 cup olive oil (or less)
• 1 chilli padi, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup roughly grated very old gouda cheese 

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a pasta bowl.
2. Combine garlic, chopped chilli and olive oil in a cold skillet. Cook over medium heat to slowly toast garlic, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low when olive oil begins to bubble. Add in bacon/lean meat. Cook and stir until garlic is golden brown, about another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Throw Pasta into the pan with the olive oil, chilli, garlic and meat and stir quickly. Stir black pepper and salt into the pasta. Sprinkle on Italian parsley and half of the cheese; stir until combined.
4. Serve pasta topped with the remaining cheese.

I used the Gouda Cheese that I had brought from my trip to Holland, Amsterdam in June. It's very salty and creamy and worked wonderfully. However, I am sure you can find an easy substitute for this! The chilli padi really gave the whole dish a real kick which is great for Singaporean chilli lovers 

If you want to take a look at the original recipe, click here.