Spaghetti Aglio E Olio

This is an arm-licking good sauce.  When we ate this meal, I noticed that my then-12-month-old son had bite marks on his arm.  As he ate with his hands, the sauce would drip down his arm.  To get every last bite, he sucked the runaway sauce off his arm, inadvertently biting himself.  Enjoy!

1 lb Spaghetti
1/3 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
Grated Parmesan Cheese

SERVES 4

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over very low heat.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and gently fry for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic has softened but not browned.  Remove the frying pan from the heat.
3. Lightly drain the spaghetti.  Don't shake it dry in the colander, as you need it to retain a little of the cooking water.  Return the frying pan to the heat, add the spaghetti and parsley and toss to coat.  Taste for seasoning and serve at once with the grated Parmesan.

Recipe taken from
Braimbridge, S. & Glynn, J. (2002.) The food of Italy: A journey for food lovers. Whitecap Books: British Columbia, Canada.