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Salt, pepper, oil, acid, and therefore the right cooking method can make any ingredient taste complete. That’s the simplest lesson from Where Cooking Begins ($21) by Bon Appétit food director Carla Lalli Music. In her book, she teaches six simple techniques which will free you from the chains of recipes and cause you to a far better , more creative cook. It’s filled with ideas and inspiration — not rules — so you'll learn to read a recipe and confidently make it your own. See for yourself with Music’s recipe for spaghetti aglio e olio (below), which you'll customize even when your fridge contains nothing but a tragic few herbs and a wedge of cheese.
Where Cooking Begins celebrates the facility of Salt and Pepper Cooking (SPC), which guarantees a great-tasting meal from just vegetable oil , salt and pepper, and fresh juice . SPC works with all six basic cooking techniques: sauté, pan-roast, steam, boil and simmer, confit, and slow-roast. Each of those techniques has its own section within the cookbook, where Music explains the way to SPC any main ingredient and follows up with a dozen examples.
SPC is not any revolutionary concept, but it feels revolutionary when you’re wont to following recipes right down to the precise spice. Music empowers you to plan meals not supported specific recipes, but supported the protein you’re craving or the gorgeous vegetable you found at the farmers market. “When you abandoning of the thought that you simply need to buy a selected list of ingredients, you’ll develop the arrogance to wing it and make substitutions supported what you discover in your own spice drawer,” Music writes within the first chapter. That freeing mindset will enable you to form a powerful meal regardless of what’s in your fridge. an equivalent freedom goes for this spaghetti aglio e olio with parsley and red pepper. Substitute any long pasta for spaghetti and any herb for the parsley, and dinner is served.
spaghetti aglio e olio with all-o the parsley
(Serves 4)
Even when there's nothing to eat, there's always spaghetti aglio e olio. There’s many parsley during this version — maybe enough to convince yourself you’re getting a serving of greens. Keep this dish in mind when you’re staring down a bunch of herbs within the crisper drawer.
Ingredients:
- kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound spaghetti (or the other long pasta, like bucatini or linguine)
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin vegetable oil
- 10 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more for serving
- 1 cup lightly packed chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems (or basil for sweeter notes or 1/2 cup chives to amplify the garlicky flavors)
- Parmigiano, for serving
Directions:
1. Bring an outsized pot of salted water to a boil for pasta. Add pasta and set a timer for two to three minutes but package instructions (it should be very hard and can finish cooking within the sauce).
2. Meanwhile, during a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles appear and garlic is beginning to turn translucent, 2 to three minutes. Season garlic with salt and pepper (I sort of a lot of pepper, and that i like how its flavor exposes within the oil). Continue cooking, breaking garlic into smaller pieces with the sting of a wooden spoon, until golden brown and softened, 3 to 4 minutes more. Add anchovies (if using) and crushed red pepper and stir until anchovies disintegrate, about 1 minute. If pasta isn't yet done, slide skillet off heat.
3. Scoop out a cup of pasta cooking liquid, then drain spaghetti and transfer to skillet along side 1/2 cup pasta water. bring back a simmer over medium heat, add parsley, and cook, tossing constantly with tongs and adding more pasta water as required , until pasta is hard and sauce is simply thick enough to coat pasta but there’s still many extra sauce in skillet, 2 to three minutes.
4. Serve with more crushed red pepper and Parmigiano for grating over.
