Aglio e Olio : Garlic and Oil

I don't know if you've noticed but I am in love with Italy.

Love. Love. Love.

I love the food, the wine, the people, the accents, the landscape, the ruins, the history...

I could go on, but instead I will share with you one of the most simple and delicious pasta recipes ever.

EVER!

Aglio e Olio aka Spag Garlic (AH-lee-oh OH-lee-oh means Garlic and Oil - we call it Spag Garlic in my house. Don't tell the Italians ok?)

1 box dried spaghetti

1 bulb garlic, cloves chopped

1 Cup Olive Oil

4 big pinches dried chili flakes

2-3 handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

salt and pepper to taste

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil - sample the water before heating - when it tasted like the ocean, it's perfect.
• Spaghetti takes about 11 minutes to cook - when pasta has 7 minutes left to cook, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
• When pasta has 5 minutes left to cook, add chopped garlic to hot oil - gently swirl - when garlic just starts to turn golden, add chili flakes - swirl, cook 30 seconds more and remove from heat.
• Drain pasta and toss with hot oil and garlic - add 2-3 handfuls of grated Parmigiano and salt and pepper to taste - toss and serve immediately. 

*Some people say if you add chopped fresh parsley to the garlic when it begins to brown, the coolness of the parsley will stop the garlic from cooking further - do this if you like - it tastes good, it looks pretty and the Italians pretty much add parsley to everything.

**Garlic should be GOLDEN at the most - once it turns more of a dull brown colour, it will be crunchy and bitter. Yuck. Don't do this.

***Add chili flakes to taste - as many or as few as you want.

Viva Italia!

Oven-Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

Ever get one of those unexplained-out-of-nowhere-have-to-have-it-NOW cravings? That was me yesterday morning.

Tomato soup. BAM. Out of nowhere. I wanted some STAT!!

So today, I made some.

I checked out a bunch of recipes online but didn't find one I loved so, although inspired by others, this recipe is my own.

Oven-Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut 14 plum tomatoes in half - separate the cloves of one full bulb of garlic - leave the skin on the cloves - arrange in a pan with the cut side of the tomatoes facing up.

Drizzle tomatoes and garlic with olive oil then sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Roast in oven for one hour.

Rough chop one medium-sized onion - sautee in olive oil until translucent - add 3 Cups of chicken stock - remove garlic cloves from skins - add cloves and tomatoes to stock - bring to a light boil - simmer 20 minutes.

Add 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar - puree with an immersion or regular blender.