photo credit: specialkrb
Cooking gourmet with a simple “spaghetti ajo e ojo” is a simple, but wonderful treat! AJO is garlic and OJO is oil. You will sometimes see this dish called “aglio e oilio” – which means the same thing.
This is actually one of the quickest, easiest and tastiest gourmet Italian dishes you could ever prepare! It is said to have originated in the shanty towns around Rome way back when. This dish is often enjoyed late at night by the people of Rome when they are craving a little something before bed.
Make the dish truly gourmet with a good quality olive oil. Maybe use that special bottle you received as a gift and you’ve been saving for “something special”.
Put your spaghetti water on to boil. While you are waiting, start your dish. Put 1/2 cup of your good olive oil, 2 teaspoons of very finely chopped garlic, and 2 teaspoons of salt in a very small saucepan. Now we are going to cook this over very low heat while stirring very frequently to keep the garlic from burning. This mixture will become a rich, golden color.
Once your spaghetti is cooked al dente, drain it and put it into a warm bowl. Now add your garlic oil sauce and toss rapidly to coat all the strands of spaghetti. Give the dish 8 or 9 twists from your black pepper mill and add 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley. Add another tablespoon of olive oil. Toss again and serve immediately.
You may see spaghetti ajo-ojo-peperoncino on an Italian menu. This is the same spaghetti gourmet with red pepper flakes added instead of – or in addition to – the black pepper. Once you’ve made it, you can surely vary the ingredients as you like. Maybe you want to add some Parmesan? Go ahead. I often throw in some anchovies. The important thing about this gourmet Italian delight is not to skimp on the olive oil. It is so good for you and it makes the dish what it is!
