the weekend cooking class

anecdotes from a sorta-casual cooking lesson + recipe notes on “pasta yolo” aka spaghetti aglio e olio

It is to my delight, and perhaps my spouse’s after-work chagrin, that we had rather serious dinner plans this past weekend. Oh, not of the dinner party variety. No themed dinner and movie. Nor a special occasion bottle of vino to pair. One may dream! And spill the beans, soon enough.

I’m about to leave town for a few weeks, and I’ve long made Jules a promise I’m (finally) ready to keep: Yes, there will be a lasagna in the freezer! One-and-a-half, in fact.

Naturally, I vow to hold up my end of this culinary bargain, and that’s on top of the small stockpile of vegan chickin’ nuggets we’ve both stuffed into the freezer for those just-in-case dinners. Their time has come, and I have no doubt Jules and the cats will sit around the fireplace with a plate of nugz and hot sauce. Cozy and tasty. Send me pics!

treating the front porch as a freezer, earlier this week

The other other end of this culinary bargain in our marriage is the occasion I alluded to at the beginning. Okay, okay, I do have a flair for the dramatic and backround in professional planning, galore. I am now inclined to wink as I clarify that I taught an intimate cooking class on Sunday night. Don’t be a creep, it was simply for two, and what I dare say (ahem, I will totally say) was a success!

While I’m on a roll, I would also say that you have no idea the phone calls I’ve had in the past while away, after my partner gets sick of the aforementioned frozen crispy bits, but, you’re reading this which means you’re in the real world of conversations and have met a silly married couple or two by now.

Hi. When are you coming home?? My pancake is stuck to the pan and I am so hungry. When will you cook real food for me? How do I make kale taste better? Why does all that sound so boring? Never mind, I’ll have chickin’ nuggets.

My heart, my patience, the spouse I love to cook for (really, truly). Meet my sous chef this past weekend for a lesson on easy! enough! Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. Recipe + thorough notes follow.

the pasta-in-progress + the sous chef

And do keep in mind that we have no take-out options within a two-plus hour radius, hence all the (yes, obsessive! creative!) home cooking and absolutely packed freezer, ahem.

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How YOU TOO can make aglio e olio.  Er, “pasta yolo”, not according to me.

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Spaghetti aglio e oilo (spaghetti with garlic and oil)

Makes 2-4 servings, easily doubled

It’s easy! Just mince garlic and locate the parsley. You married an Italian! 

1 pot. 1 pan. Less than 30 minutes and dinner! Really!

btw Tbsp = tablespoon tsp = teaspoon

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced - just do whatever seems easier!

• Generous pinch crushed red chili flakes - the Calabrian ones OR break up 2 of the whole dried ones and make sure to wash your hands well after, or better yet, take a shower

• Most of a bunch of flat-leaf parsley = trim the ends off and throw them in the stock bag in the freezer if you can find it !  (or compost or toss or whatev, whatever you do in your neck of the woods, but in ours, which is actual woods, I totally recommend saving parsley ends for stock)

• Kosher salt - it’s on the functional susan [not so lazy]

• Freshly ground black pepper - ditto

• ½ lb spaghetti…or whatever! But trust me on the spaghetti, and I know we have it. And linguine. And bucatini.

• Nooch and/or v parm

• Pasta water - Reserve ½ cup of pasta water towards the very end of cooking and you’ll be grabbing a few spoonfuls along the way

• Optional add-in’s that you can throw in with the cooked pasta: sliced kale, olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes if you can find them…

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Directions + Passionate Notes from jess:

1. This comes together quickly! Get your “mise en place” in place. Rinse the parsley. Chop the parsley. Set it aside. Mince or slice a bunch of garlic. Set aside any add-in’s (sliced kale?), grab a pot to boil the pasta in and a large sauté pan. Grab the cooking olive oil. Pick a wooden spoon to cook with. Let’s go!

2. Put on the salted pasta water to boil, covered. Real talk: You could use the larger saucepan vs. the enormous pasta pot (dutch oven) if you aren’t looking for leftovers - or hey, just break the spaghetti and keep it between us.

3. Once the pasta goes in – remember to set the timer one or two minutes short for SERIOUS al dente business – add the olive oil and garlic to the sauté pan on medium heat. Stir a few times and lower the heat once it gets golden. Grab at least a ¼ cup of the pasta water and add it into the pan. Throw in a small handful of parsley and the chili flakes. Let this reduce by half, turning up the heat again to medium or even higher if you dare.

4. Now that the pasta is ready: Reserve that ½ of final pasta water, drain the pasta over the sink, and stir it into the sauté pan. Fold in the rest of the minced parsley, grind in the black pepper, a good pinch of salt and splashes of the reserved pasta water as needed. This is the point you could incorporate the “add in’s” we talked about, and/or simply a dusting of nooch or bit of v parm.

5. Mix together another moment or two as the pasta finishes and the flavors meld. Season to taste with more salt and pepper as needed. Taste it!

6. Drizzle with some of the GOOD olive oil (you know, the one from my sister, I hid it under the sink) and extra chili flakes for serving! Go for a copious or mere sprinkle of cheezy-ness to bring it altogether. You do you. <3

   

   spaghetti olio e olio w/ bonus garlic toast

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   Disclaimer: I made this one from taste and memory, yadda yadda. While that means I did not compare these recipe notes to any longstanding Neopolitan methods, I do stand by what results in a delicious, garlicky plate of noodles to twirl (and slurp).

Verdict: Pasta yolo!

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What “quick dish” would you teach someone else?

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sourdough bagels, hiding in the freezer bag w/ the lasagna(s)

References + Relevant Links = Related Cookbooks  I recommend <3

• Best Pasta Sauces by Micol Negrin

• The Wok by J. Kenji López-Alt {slowly but surely cooking my way through this one lately because ! we got a wok ! }

• The Top 100 Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed