My name is Ellen Nagaoka and I am addicted to watching cooking videos on Youtube. I wouldn’t necessarily call this addiction problematic because it does lead me to cooking some delicious dishes.
Recently I stumbled upon a Bon Appetit video called “Andy Makes Pantry Pasta.” In the video Andy describes it as an easy pasta dish you can make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. The dish is really simple to make and takes about 30 minutes.
The simplicity of the dish also allows for creativity, you can add or subtract ingredients as you please. For example I don’t like parsley so I opted out of it, but I really like spicy food so I added more red pepper flakes. You could also add different herbs to it like basil or you could saute some spinach in it for some added texture and color. Show off your creative side and have fun with this dish!
To make the dish:
- 12 oz spaghetti or any long pasta
- Salt (I like kosher salt the best)
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup olive oil, extra for drizzling
- 1-2 packets of red pepper flakes
- 1 cup finely grated parmesan
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- Black pepper
- ⅓ cup finely chopped parsley (I leave this out)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Lemon zest (optional)
Steps:
- Boil water and add salt. Remember your pasta water should be as salty as the sea, so add more salt than you think. Add the pasta and cook 3 minutes less than the box saya. You want it to be very al dente.
- At the same time add olive oil to a large pan or pot, it’s up to you, and add sliced garlic. Cook until garlic browns, this takes about 4 minutes.
3. Add in the red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.
4. Add in 1 ¼ cup of the pasta water (this helps create and emulsified sauce) and the parmesan cheese. Stir until melted, about 1 minute.
5. Add in the pasta, I like using tongs putting the pasta in directly from the pot. Add the butter and lots of black pepper. Stir until the butter is melted and a thick sauce is created.
6. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and zest if using.
7. Divide between two bowls, add and olive oil drizzle and extra parmesan, if desired.
8. Eat and enjoy!