Recipe: Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and peppers)

July 9, 10:23 PMLA Cooking ExaminerErika Kerekes

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Alex Palermo calls this homey dish "Italian penicillin"

Alex Palermo grew up with a German mother and an Italian father, but unless his dad was out of town, Italian cuisine always won. Palermo, food entrepreneur and owner of Cube Cafe & Marketplace on La Brea, calls this simple dish "Italian penicillin" because, he says, "it cures everything - from stomach aches to fevers to fights between northern and southern Italians." It's traditionally a home-cooked dish, not something ordered in a restaurant, and it's often the last thing dinner guests are fed before the party's over.

The pastas at Palermo's Cube are quite a bit more complicated than this one: braised beef cheek ravioli, sheep's milk ricotta canneloni, maltagliati with wild boar ragu, all of which sound divine but complicated to prepare at home. This dish is easy and satisfying, and the hot pepper adds a savory kick.

Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled, halved and interior green taken out
• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 dried birds-eye chilies or 1/8 tsp crushed red chili flakes
• 2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
• salt to taste

Put a pot of water to boil. When it boils, add 1 Tbsp salt to the water, add the spaghetti, and stir.

While the pasta is cooking, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for approximately 1 minute. Add red chili and saute for an additional 15 seconds. Add chopped parsley. Add salt to taste and take off the flame.

When the paste is cooked al dente (consult the package for appropriate cooking time), drain the pasta, but leave a couple tablespoons of the pasta water in the pot - this is important for this dish.

Add your sauce from the saute pan and stir. Add additional salt if needed. Buon apetito!