Pasta in a Fiery Chili Garlic Paste

After our long weekend in Vegas, I wanted something quick and easy. I saved this recipe for Bucatini in Fiery Chili-Garlic Paste in my Epicurious recipe box for a night just like this.

When I went to the market I completely forgot to get Bucatini (a long, tube shaped pasta), so I used linguine instead.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, 3 peeled and 1 minced
• 6 small dried chili peppers or 1 teaspoon chili flakes (I used chili flakes, and probably more than a teaspoon)
• 1 pound bucatini
• 2 tablespoons salt (I used less)
• I added a touch of Parmesan cheese at the end, maybe a tablespoon
  

Directions

• Heat 1/3 cup of the olive oil in a small skillet over a medium flame (I used a large saute pan so I could use it later to toss the pasta).
• Add the peeled garlic and chili; cook 2 minutes, or until the garlic is golden and the chili peppers are swollen (or the chili flakes are aromatic).
• Cool the garlic and chili 5 minutes, then crush in a mortar with a pestle into a coarse paste.
• Add the remaining 1/3 cup of olive oil to the skillet over medium heat and cook the minced garlic until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in the prepared garlic-chili paste and cook 30 seconds.
• Meanwhile, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add the bucatini and salt and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
• Transfer the bucatini to a serving platter, fold in the chili-garlic sauce and the reserved cooking water, and serve hot.

Mmm, love that heat! Quick, easy, and delicious. Enough said!

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