Homemade pasta dishes aren’t restricted to bolognese or lasagne and with the right recipe, require very few ingredients to taste delicious.

An authentic Italian dish known as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is as simple as it gets when it comes to home cooking, and couldn’t be easier to cook to perfection thanks to this expert recipe from Phil Bianchi.

Founder expert of The Gift of Oil, Phil’s expertise as a food and flavour maestro means he’s well-versed in creating dishes where every ingredient shines through.

His take on Spaghetti Aglio e Olio calls for just six ingredients, which he said makes it “the perfect recipe” for cooking in “around 10 minutes”.

Phil added: “The simplicity of the ingredients makes it cost-effective, as most of the ingredients are often staples in a kitchen cupboard.”

Phil’s simple spaghetti recipe

Ingredients

250g spaghetti, or other long pasta
60ml Sicilian Olive Oil
Two garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
A handful of parsley finely chopped
11g parmesan, more if needed
Salt, to taste

Method

Phil’s take on Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is simple in its list of ingredients and methods, ready in just a few steps.

First, ensure all of the ingredients are cut as required then set aside. Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti.

While the spaghetti is cooking, gently heat the olive oil in a frying pan and finely slice the garlic cloves

Add the garlic and chilli flakes into the pan, and cook gently for a few minutes, or until the garlic is pale gold. Phil warned against getting the garlic too coloured, urging: “Be careful not to heat the garlic and chilli for too long, as it could make it bitter!”

Once the garlic and chilli are fragrant and cooked, stir in the chopped parsley. Now drain the spaghetti and save around 60ml of cooking water – “this is to keep the spaghetti nice and moist”, said Phil

Add the spaghetti to the frying pan and stir well to coat the oil, gradually add some starchy cooking water, as much is needed to ensure the pasta is moist and juicy.

Cook on medium heat for 30 seconds, stirring a couple of times. Sprinkle the spaghetti with extra chopped parsley, and grated parmesan cheese, and enjoy.