Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Ham

Serves 2
Ingredients
200gms Spaghetti
4-5 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 slice of Ham, diced into small squares
2 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
2 tbsp Fresh Coriander stems, chopped
4-5 Sage Leaves, finely chopped
2 Red Chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Palm Sugar
Salt and Freshly ground pepper according to taste

Method

In two litres of salted boiling water, add 1/2 tsp oil and the dry spaghetti. Let it simmer for 7-8 minutes while you stir occasionally. Drain the spaghetti out.

In the mean while, in a flat pan, add the oil, chillies and garlic. Let the flavours infuse into the oil for 1 minute. The garlic should slightly caramelized (not burnt). You could add 1/2 tsp of butter if u want to give some more flavour and body to the spaghetti. Add the ham, sugar and sage leaves too. Saute for a minute and then add the spaghetti to the oil. Add the parsley and the coriander stems along with salt and pepper. Turn the Spaghetti on the pan till its coated with the oil mixture and the parsley. Take it off the pan, drizzle some more olive on top and serve hot :)

The simplest Aglio Olio ingredients are Oil, Garlic, Chillies, Parsley and Spaghetti. You can use just these and the dish will still be absolutely smashing.


Food Marriage tip
1) Spaghetti should always be cooked in salted water
2) Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil for dressings. In this case we are making a hot dressing, hence while adding Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the pan, make sure the pan is not too hot. The goodness of this oil goes away at high temperatures.
3) For this dish, its critical that the Spaghetti is generously coated with the oil mixture, else it will be very dry to eat