A buttery, garlicky, salty, peppery pasta dish that takes 15 minutes to prepare plus the time it takes to get a pot of water to boil. Using fresh garlic gives an explosion of flavor but granulated garlic powder does the job too and is probably preferred if serving to little ones. The most important step to making this dish is speed because the pasta water needs to be hot to deliver a smooth creamy sauce. Recipe can be halved which will serve about 4 - 6 as a side. A full recipe serves 4 - 6 as a main dish.
Course Main Course, Side
Cuisine American, Italian, Peruvian
Keyword Pasta, Spaghetti with Garlic Butter and Cheese
1cupof reserved hot pasta wateryou may not use it all
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to package directions - al dente, please in salted boiling water. Check out my post for How to Cook Pasta for proper cooking and seasoning. After the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup or more of pasta water and drain the rest.
Over medium heat, add a stick of butter to the pot and melt.
Add the garlic powder (or freshly minced for a more intense flavor) and stir allowing the garlic to release its fragrance. Do not brown. This should only take about 30 seconds. If using garlic powder, it should take less.
Remove pot from heat, add in the spaghetti, salt and pepper and toss. Add a little pasta water and continue to toss coating the pasta.
Add the cheese and continue to toss until the pasta is fully coated. Add more of the pasta water to give it a nice consistency. The hot pasta water will melt the cheese and turn it into a smooth creamy sauce.
Top with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. (Do I even have to write that?)
Notes
*You can use Pecorino Romano and it’s actually my preference. If you do use it you won’t be disappointed, but before adding any additional salt, taste first as it is salty. 1 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano can be different for everyone. If you use a food processor to grate or use purchased grated cheese, using a cup measure should be fine. If you use a microplane, it’s not going to be the same. Therefore, you can use 4 ounces as a guide for weight. I don’t recommend using shredded cheese here because it will clump up and not mix properly. **Again, Romano cheese is saltier than Parmesan and that’s why it’s my preference for this dish. I use 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt when making this but you could start with 1 teaspoon and add from there.