Spaghetti aglio e olio with Cannellini Croutons
Don't you just love dishes that are accidentally vegan?
Spaghetti aglio e olio, which translates to spaghetti with garlic and oil, originated in Southern Italy as a quick and easy meal for poor families. It was made with minimal, readily available, and affordable ingredients, including spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, and chili flakes.
We love this dish as it's mega easy, extremely simple and super tasty. Not bad at all.
Serves
Ingredients
For the cannellini croutons
<item-todo-done>1 x 400g can of cannellini beans<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp mixed Italian seasoning<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp Nooch<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tsp salt<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> olive oil<item-todo-done>
For the pasta
<item-todo-done>500g spaghetti<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 red chillis<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>8 cloves garlic<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> third of a cup good quality olive oil<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> big handful parsley<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 lemon<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> Salt and pepper<item-todo-done>
Before you start
Boiled water | Large frying pan | Microplane or garlic crush | Oven heated to 200
For the cannellini croutons
- Drain and rinse the cannellini beans then lay them on kitchen towel to dry them, you want them to be very dry at this stage so that they crisp up.
- Transfer to a baking tray and toss with the seasoning, Nooch, salt and a generous amount of olive oil.
- Transfer them to the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
Cook the pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- Add the spaghetti and cook for 8-10 minutes until al dente.
Meanwhile
- In a large frying pan, heat up the oil on a low heat.
- Grate or crush the garlic and finely chop the chilli.
- Add the garlic and chilli to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally. If it colours too quickly remove from the heat until the pasta finishes cooking.
For the pasta
- Drain the pasta reserving a cup of pasta water then add the water to the garlicky oil, stir and let simmer for a few minutes.
- Chop the parsley and add to the pan with the pasta and a big squeeze of lemon juice.
- Toss everything together to coat the pasta, so that it is coated in the sauce, the starchy pasta water should help create a thick sauce.
Finish and serve
- Finish with black pepper and the crispy croutons.