Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil

I don't usually have the 'motivation' to cook when I'm alone at home. The thought of washing up after that would be enough to deter me most of the time, and I would end up buying food from outside. But once in a while, I'm even lazier to drag my butt out of the house. And today is one of those days.

Thanks to this cookbook I borrowed from the library a few days ago, I managed to find some really simple pasta dishes that I can cook for myself without much fuss. Also, if you are trying out this dish, do note that there is a difference between the flat leaf parsley stated in the recipe, as to the curly parsley I used (bought from NTUC).

Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil (recipe from : The Best Ever One-Pot Cookbook by Jenni Fleetwood)

Note : the following quantity is for 4 servings

Ingredients :

- 400g fresh / dried spaghetti
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 - 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 dried red chilli (I substituted with red chilli flakes)
- 1 small handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (I could only find curly parsley)
- salt

Directions :

1) Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water, according to the packet instructions, until it is just tender, adding plenty of salt to the water* (see note below).

2) When the pasta is just tender, drain it using a large colander, then transfer it to a warmed, large serving bowl.

3) Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and dried chilli and stir over low heat for a minute or two until the garlic is just beginning to brown. Remove the dried chilli and discard.

4) Pour the hot olive oil and cooked garlic mixture over the pasta, add the chopped parsley and toss vigourously until pasta glistens, then serve immediately.

* Note : Don't use salt when you are preparing the hot oil, garlic and chilli mixture, because the salt will not dissolve sufficiently. This is why plenty of salt is recommended for cooking the pasta.

And being a cheese person, I added a handful of grated Parmesan cheese to the pasta in the end so the saltiness of the dish is just right. :)