What Makes A

Spaghetti Aglio E Olio

Recipe So Good? Learn About The Right Pasta-Sauce Pairing

Quick Summary

A spaghetti aglio e olio recipe might seem simple and quite straightforward, but the choice of the pasta, which is spaghetti, and the sauce, which is made with the emulsification of pasta water and garlic-infused olive oil, makes it too scrumptious not to make again and again. The pasta shape decides how much sauce and flavour each bite carries, with thin strands suited to light sauces like aglio e olio and pomodoro and thicker and flat shapes holding heavier cream and cheese sauces quite well. Read on to learn more, with some tweaks to make it more desi. 

Deep Dive

What makes pomodoro pasta or bucatini pasta so good, and what is the thinking behind using spaghetti for this dish with pasta water, olive oil, and garlic? For any pasta recipe, the pasta shape has a big role to play in how much sauce and flavour each bite of the pasta carries. Thinner strands of spaghetti pasta suit light sauces like aglio e olio and pomodoro. Thicker and flat shapes, like fettuccine, hold cream, cheese and ragu (meat sauce) well. Tubes trap chunky sauces, and stuffed pastas need light sauces so the filling stands out. This article covers each pairing with Indian pantry staples for an uncomplicated pasta dinner or luncheon.

How Pasta Shape Changes How A Sauce Tastes

In Italian cooking, pasta is dressed with the sauce and not drenched like the typical gravy or curry dish. The sauce coats each piece in a thin, even layer, so every bite has both pasta and sauce. The pasta shape also controls how well that might occur, with long, smooth strands (spaghetti, capellini) having little to grip, so they hold thin sauces that spread easily. Flat ribbons (linguine, fettuccine) offer more surface area for the sauce, and tubes (macaroni, penne, rigatoni), twists and ridges (farfalle, fusilli) have hollows and grooves that hold sauce in place. This sort of logic is well known by regular cooks as to which medium soaks or holds well when it comes to thinner or thicker dishes. Like roti is used to scoop up thicker dishes, while rice soaks up the same dish.

Sauces For Thin Long Pastas Like Spaghetti

Thin long pastas such as spaghetti, linguine and capellini (angel hair) go well with smooth, light sauces. Marinara pasta sauce and pomodoro pasta sauce are the usual choices, along with oily, herby, and smooth sauces such as pesto sauce. Large pieces of meat like chicken, sausage, and seafood and/or vegetables like tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach do not cling to these strands, so the sauce should be fine.

The clearest example is the spaghetti aglio e olio recipe, which uses only garlic, olive oil, chilli and parsley, as there is no sauce as such. A light emulsion of oil and starchy pasta water coats each strand. Because nothing heavy competes with the pasta, its wheat flavour and bite stay noticeable. Garlic and chilli also suit the Indian palate well.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 200 g spaghetti

• 5-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp red chilli flakes

• Fresh parsley or coriander, chopped

• Salt

• 1 cup pasta water

Method:

1. Boil the spaghetti in well-salted water until one minute short of al dente. Reserve a cup of the water.

2. Warm the oil on low heat and cook the garlic until pale gold, not brown.

3. Add the chilli flakes, then the spaghetti and a ladle of pasta water.

4. Toss for a minute until the liquid turns glossy, then add the herbs.

Pomodoro pasta is the other light sauce you could use here. It features ripe tomatoes cooked with garlic, olive oil and basil, so you get a smooth sauce that feels fresh courtesy of the basil and tomato combination. Blanch, peel and crush local tomatoes and cook them for 10-15 minutes. Skip the onion-masala base used for Indian gravies, as it would make the sauce heavier.

Pesto works on thin pastas because it is oily and smooth. Some Indian cooks make coriander or mint versions, which taste different from basil pesto but follow the same texture rule.

Thick, Long Pastas (Linguine And Bucatini) And Heavier Sauces

Linguine is a long, slightly flat strand, and bucatini pasta is a thick, hollow, straw-like spaghetti. Their extra thickness is perfect with sauces thickened with cheese or cream, and thicker tomato sauces such as Amatriciana. The hollow centre of bucatini also catches some sauce inside the strand.

The typical Amatriciana uses cured pork cheek (guanciale) and pecorino. Vegetarian folks can build the meaty depth with sun-dried tomatoes, smoked paprika and chilli instead. A tomato-cream sauce will be close in texture to a mild makhani gravy, which also suits linguine well. Bucatini might not be stocked in every supermarket, and can be quite the pocket pinch. Thick spaghetti or linguine is the nearest substitute.

Tagliatelle And Pappardelle For Ragu And Creamy Sauces

Long, flat noodles such as tagliatelle and pappardelle go well with thick dairy-based sauces and ragus such as Bolognese. The sauce clings to the wide surface and gets trapped in the folds of the pasta. These noodles are also good with lighter sauces such as pesto. The typical Bolognese recipe is meat-based, but the pairing works for vegetarian ragus too. Finely chopped mushrooms, lentil mash, soya granules or crumbled paneer, slow-cooked in tomato until thick, gives the same clinging texture. Flat egg noodles are often sold fresh or as dried nests in Italian supermarkets, so you could use either for this pasta dish.

Pasta Sauce Pairing With Smaller Ones Like Farfalle

Small shaped pastas such as farfalle (bow-ties) and orecchiette (meaning ‘little ears’ in Italian) do well with most sauces, salads and soups. Their cupped or pinched shapes pair well with small pieces of vegetables and peas. Conchiglie (shells), fusilli and macaroni also fall in this category. Load these pastas with green peas, sweet corn, chopped broccoli, capsicum and baby spinach nestle well inside the curves instead of sliding off. These shapes also work well in chilled pasta salads dressed with olive oil, lemon and herbs, perfect for the warmer months.

Penne, Rigatoni And Ziti Are Ideal For Chunky Sauces

Short, tube-shaped pastas such as penne, rigatoni, cavatappi and ziti are versatile, but they pair especially well with ragus. The sauce coats the tubes inside and out. Ridged rigatoni holds even more sauce than smooth penne. Chilli-based arrabbiata, roasted vegetable sauces, mushroom ragu and paneer in tomato sauce all sit well in these shapes. They also are great in baked pasta dishes with cheese, where the sauce needs to stay put through cooking.

Tortellini Vs Ravioli

Stuffed pastas such as ravioli, agnolotti and tortellini are a category of their own as the main flavour is inside the pasta itself with the sauce cradling the pasta flavour bombs. The filling is the main flavour, so pair them with lighter oil- or butter-based sauces, or light tomato sauces such as marinara. A heavy sauce would hide the filling.

A simple tortellini pasta recipe needs only boiled tortellini tossed in melted butter with garlic and black pepper. Indian cooks can look for paneer-spinach or cheese fillings, which are easy to find in the chilled or frozen sections of larger stores.

How Pasta Sauce Consistency Changes Flavour

Sauce weight decides where the flavour sits, be it a light one like aglio e olio or pesto, or the heavier ragu. 

• Light sauces (aglio e olio, pomodoro, marinara, pesto) leave a thin film on the pasta. The pasta's wheat flavour and bite stay noticeable, so the noodle is part of the taste. Thin strands work best because they have more surface area for their volume, so a thin coating spreads evenly across them.

• Rich sauces (cream, cheese, ragu) carry more fat and solids. The sauce supplies most of the flavour, and the pasta works as a carrier. These sauces need wide ribbons, tubes or ridges to hold on to.

• Mismatches show up quickly. A chunky mushroom ragu on capellini falls to the bottom of the plate and leaves the strands plain. A thin pomodoro on large rigatoni runs off the ridges and leaves the tubes under-seasoned.

Starch helps bridge the two, as starchy pasta water lets oil and sauce bind to the noodle, which is why a spaghetti aglio e olio recipe depends on it so heavily.

Pasta And Sauce Pairing Cheat Sheet

What To Keep In Mind When Pairing

• Salt the water generously, at roughly 10g per litre, because the pasta, once al dente, cannot be seasoned properly afterwards.

• Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining, and do not rinse the pasta.

• Cook one minute short of the pack time, then finish in the pan with the sauce.

• Keep delicate sauces simple. Garlic and chilli flakes are the easiest crossover from Indian cooking. Heavy masalas will overpower a light sauce.

• If a shape is unavailable, match its type, like replacing the thick spaghetti with bucatini, or penne with ziti.