Aglio Olio

Aglio Olio
Saturday August 30

We had been sitting out on the patio having a glass - or two - of wine with our nice neighbor Sonia, and we needed something quick to fill up the empty spaces. Luckily, another nice neighbor, Tony, had given us a bag of freshly-dug garden garlic, so we used this special stuff for what Karen's Nanny used to call "ali oli" - simple pasta with garlic and oil.

In this case, we used tiny shell pasta, jazzed up with anchovies and parsley, so properly it was conchiglie aglio olio e acciughe e prezzemolo (the basic parsley pesto that we owe to the Divine Miss Williams). The garlic was ivory white and much less sharp-smelling than the usual supermarket kind, and simmered down nicely in the olive oil. Then we added the anchovy fillets, and when they broke down, the chopped parsley. Finally, we tossed the drained hot pasta in the pan with the garlic, and topped it with grated romano. The piquant taste of the garlic was subtle but clear throughout the dish. We drank an Yvon Mau 2007 Sauvignon Blanc alongside - neither Niagara or Italian, but what can you do.