Inspired by the Italian classic – Spaghetti Aglio e Olio but with a spinachy and cheesy twist.

When I first made the Italian classic, I thought it would be traditional to add a bit of grated parmesan cheese, which I didn’t have in the fridge. So I used grated cheddar cheese instead and the spaghetti tasted amazing. The second time I tried with parmesan, thinking let’s give this traditional recipe a proper try. For some reason, it didn’t taste as amazing as when I used cheddar. It was only later when I did more research on this Italian classic that parmesan isn’t traditionally added to the dish!

As for the spinach, I added it to add a bit of greens and nutrition to our weeknight dinner, now it feels like something’s missing if I don’t add it.

Ingredients

8-10 cloves garlic, minced
Chilli flakes, to taste
120g baby spinach, rinsed and roughly or finely chopped
180g spaghetti
Cheddar or Parmesan cheese, to taste
Good quality extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti for about 8 minutes. It will still be a bit firm, but that’s fine, as we will be cooking it again later on. Drain and set aside, retaining some of the pasta water.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan set over a low heat and sizzle the garlic and chilli for a few minutes until fragrant. Start with a very low heat to make sure you don’t brown the garlic. Either keep it at very low heat or remove it from heat to let the chilli garlic flavour infuse into the olive oil.
3. On the hob with medium-low heat, season the chilli garlic oil with salt, and add the spaghetti. Toss to combine and let the heat wilt the spinach until it’s soft. Add grated cheddar cheese or parmesan as you toss the spinach.
4. Serve warm.

Did you try this recipe and what do you think? Share with me in the comments below! You can also join my email list to get all the latest recipes in your inbox 🙂

Janice xx