Spaghetti with Olive Oil and Parm

Sometimes, the best dishes are the most simple.  And, let’s be honest, there really is nothing more simple than pasta with olive oil and parm.  Unless you go with pasta and butter . . . mmmm.

Most people are fairly familiar with Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil.  That’s a wonderful, wonderful dish too . . . but sometimes, we need to adjust recipes to suit the tastes of those around us.  My munchkin, for example, is currently not entirely excited about the taste of garlic.  He’s 3 . . . he’ll grow out of it.  I hope.

Anyway, simple pasta is one of my go-to comfort dishes, and it doesn’t hurt that my munchkin adores it as much as I do.  When I discovered that he’s all about the parm, I added that right on in.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Ingredients:

1 lb Thick Spaghetti (or other long pasta, such as linguine)
sea salt to taste
½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
(for mom’s plate:  red pepper flakes, finely chopped parsley)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add sea salt to taste.  Your pasta cooking water should taste like the sea.  For real.  Just watch the good chefs on the Food Network … they say it all the time.
Cook the pasta according to the directions. Drain, and reserve a small amount of the pasta cooking water (about 2 tablespoons).
Combine the hot pasta with the cheese and oil in a large bowl. Add pasta cooking liquid as needed so it’s not dry.
Mix well and serve.