Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

Method

1. Peel the garlic, halve it lengthwise, remove any green sprout and slice it evenly 2 mm thick, so all the slices turn golden at the same time. Break the dried chilies into 2–3 pieces; shake out the seeds for a milder dish. Finely chop the parsley leaves.

2. Pour the water into a 20 cm pot, cover and bring to a boil over high heat; this takes about 11 min. When it boils hard, add the coarse salt. There's no cheese in this dish, so the pasta needs well-salted water.

   Add in this stepWater for the pasta 2½ LCoarse salt (for the pasta water) 25 g

   high heat

3. Add the spaghetti and stir for the first minute so it doesn't stick. Boil over medium-high heat for 8 min, about 2 minutes less than the packet says; it finishes cooking in the pan.

   Add in this stepSpaghetti 200 g

   medium-high heat

4. As soon as the spaghetti goes in, put the olive oil (keep back 1 tbsp for finishing) and sliced garlic into a cold 24 cm frying pan, then set it over medium-low heat. Cook for 5 min, tilting the pan now and then so the garlic stays submerged. When the edges of the garlic turn pale gold, add the chili and give it just 30 seconds more. Brown garlic tastes bitter, so move on before that.

   Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 4 tbspGarlic cloves 3Dried red chilies (peperoncino) 1

   medium-low heat

5. Immediately ladle 100 ml of pasta water into the pan (careful, it spits); this stops the garlic cooking. Lift the spaghetti into the pan with tongs and toss and shake over medium-high heat for 2 min. It's ready when the oil and water have come together into a slightly cloudy, glossy sauce that clings to the pasta. Add a splash more water if it looks dry.

   medium-high heat

6. Turn off the heat, add the parsley and the reserved olive oil and toss once more. Taste, add a tiny pinch of salt if needed and serve at once.

   Add in this stepFlat-leaf parsley, chopped 2 tbspExtra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp