Creamy Garlic Confit Pasta (Blended Aglio e Olio)
A whole head of garlic slow-cooked in olive oil, blended into a silky golden sauce, and tossed through spaghetti with parsley and a dusting of ground chili. A naturally vegan, five-ingredient garlic pasta that tastes like it came from a tiny Italian kitchen.
Servings 2
Calories 1016kcal
Ingredients
For the garlic confit:
- 1 head garlic cloves peeled (about 10 to 12 cloves)
- 120 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
For the pasta:
- 10 oz spaghetti
- 180 ml reserved pasta water plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup freshly parsley finely chopped
- fine sea salt to taste
To finish:
- 1/2 tsp ground red chili (Aleppo, Kashmiri, or paprika), plus more for dusting
- Extra chopped parsley
Instructions
- Confit the garlic. Place the peeled cloves in a small saucepan, packing them in a snug single layer, and pour over the olive oil so they are just covered (use a small pan so the ½ cup is enough). Add the salt. Set over the lowest heat and cook gently for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cloves are completely soft and lightly golden and the oil has tiny bubbles rising through it. Do not let the garlic brown. Take it off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.
- Blend the sauce. Lift the soft cloves into a tall jug or blender along with ¼ cup (60 ml) of the warm confit oil. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. That ¼ cup is what carries the sauce; reserve the remaining oil (about ¼ cup) in a clean jar as garlic oil for another use. (If you want a big confit batch on hand, cook 3 to 4 heads at once in enough oil to cover, then blend just 1 head's worth for this sauce and keep the rest in the fridge.)
- Cook the pasta. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute less than the package says. Before draining, scoop out at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
- Build the emulsion. Add the blended garlic sauce to a wide pan over low heat. Pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of the pasta water and stir until it loosens into a glossy sauce. Add the drained spaghetti and toss continuously, adding more pasta water a splash at a time, until the sauce turns silky and coats every strand.
- Finish. Take the pan off the heat and fold through the chopped parsley. Taste and adjust the salt.
- Serve. Twist the pasta into bowls, then dust generously with the ground red chili and scatter over a little extra parsley. Serve right away.
Notes
- For the smoothest sauce, blend the confit while the cloves are still warm. They break down far more easily.
- Reserve more pasta water than you think you need. It is the difference between glossy and greasy.
- The leftover garlic confit oil is liquid gold. Drizzle it over bread, roasted vegetables, or grain bowls.
Nutrition
Calories: 1016kcal | Carbohydrates: 107g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 40g | Sodium: 309mg | Potassium: 368mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 644IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 3mg