Spaghetti aglio e olio (lit. 'spaghetti [with] garlic and oil') is a pasta dish typical of the Italian city of Naples, in the Campania region. Its popularity can be attributed to it being simple to prepare and the fact that it makes use of inexpensive, readily available ingredients that have long shelf lives in a pantry. The dish was once also known as vermicelli alla Borbonica.

Preparation

The dish is made by first lightly sautéing thinly sliced garlic in extra virgin olive oil, sometimes with the addition of red pepper flakes (dried chili—in which case its name is spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino). The oil and garlic are then tossed with spaghetti cooked in salted water. Finely chopped Italian parsley is then commonly added as a garnish. Although cheese is not included in most traditional recipes, grated Parmesan or pecorino can be added, similarly to pasta allo scarpariello. Some recipes recommend adding some of the water from cooking pasta to the olive oil to create a sauce, but other recipes recommend simply stirring the oil into the drained pasta.