Garlic and Oil Pasta Sauce: Simple and Good!

[Sunbeam]

Redolent with garlic, this rustic, classic Italian sauce can be made in a flash.
Feel free to use more or less garlic to your own taste, but be careful not to let it over-brown or burn, or the sauce will be bitter.

Ingredients

1/4 Cup best-quality olive oil
15 large garlic cloves (1 full head) crushed and chopped
1/4 - 1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 Cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt - to taste
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a medium skillet, reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and parsley, and cook until garlic is tender, about 4 minutes. If the garlic starts to show a hint of browning, remove from heat. Stir in salt and pepper, and toss with pasta in a serving bowl. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the pasta and toss again.
Pass extra grated cheese and the pepper mill for each person to add to taste. Serves 4.

Recommended pasta: 3/4 pound spaghetti or spaghettini

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This recipe is from "All The Best Pasta Sauces", by Joie Warner, ISBN 0-13-022336-0. The book was given to me by a colleague living in Rome, Italy, in 1995. I highly recommend it, it has many wonderful pasta sauces using simple, magical combinations of fresh ingredients in the Italian tradition. This is just an example, and one of our favourites.