Here is a better conversion tool:
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cookingconversions.asp

If you so dislike the red pepper flakes for their tendency to burn, try looking in the international isle for JARRED peperoncino, at least that is where you can find them in New York City if not in the produce section. And you are quite right, my dad, born in Italy, much prefers his peperoncino in his Aglio e Olio. Moreso, he prefers them slightly roasted prior to being added. That is his personal preference. I hope this helps you find some you can regularly use for this dish.

A very good recipe but my opinion is:
- Use salted water to cook spaghetti.
- For any reason add water when spaghetti are on the pan
- why add basil?
- Use hot pepper whole end not flakes. Remove them first than put spaghetti on the pan.

Good question. I prefer this dish without either basil or parsley, but many people enjoy the flavor and believe the color contrast adds to the dish. You mean, I think add water when the spaghetti is IN the pan to loosen it up and not make it overly oily, yes? Just me, I like freshly ground hot pepper, but did you mean put the whole pepper in the oil with the garlic then remove the pepper and put the spaghetti in the pan? Just a question.

Surely the basil give color to the dish but the flavor is very different without. I prefer without.
Exactly, i mean put the whole pepper in the oil with the garlic and remove the pepper jus before to put the spaghetti IN the pan (sorry for my bad english that google translator can't correct!!!)
Usually i use hot pepper from Calabria because i like very very hot "Aglio e Olio" and it's an excellent idea to drink more white wine....

With either basil or parsley the flavor is very different, but for some reason, some cooks think COLOR CONTRAST in a dish is necessary. Notice, I did not respond in italian, being first generation american myself, my italian is terrible. My grandmother used to make a very hot pepper and give it to use on Chirstmas. I mean very hot. You use just a dash. I've never been to Calabria, but to most of other parts of Italy. I'll have to get there.

This was a great recipe , so simple but yet still made me feel I know nothing in cooking. Realy educated me.

after sauteing i add white wine to simmer then add the pasta - taste great too

Sounds interesting, not something I would have thought of but... may give it a try.

Hi guys, love this recipe, last time I made it with Lemon Myrtle EVOO from Australia, it was lovely, and dare I say it, it was really good cold!

I was wondering if you could show grams and US measures for us Yanks.

The conversion link is listed by Silvia A, above. Should help.

Made this for Sunday lunch after church. The entire family loved it. Even the 1 1/2 year old granddaughter.

Do you have any recipes for home-made pasta. My aunt went to a cooking school in Italy that taught her, but the ingredients and measurements are different here than what is available in the heart of Tuscany.

Yes there are many recipes/lessons on Rouxbe for this. Here is a link to a pasta page. You can also enter pasta in the search field for more recipes. Cheers!

i will be sure to check that out!

I thought the cooking pasta lesson said that you should put in 2 tablespoons of salt per pound of pasta. Wouldn't you then want about tablespoon of salt here, rather than a teaspoon?

I thought the cooking pasta lesson said that you should put in 2 tablespoons of salt per pound of pasta. Wouldn't you then want about tablespoon of salt here, rather than a teaspoon?

You will likely need at least 4 liters of water to boil the 200 grams of pasta called for in the recipe. The recipe indicated "salt for pasta water (1 tsp per 1 L of water)"; therefore according to this recipe you will need about 4 teaspoons (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) of salt for that amount of water.

Basically you just want to salt the water (whatever amount you are using) until it tastes slightly salty.

Hope this helps to clear things up.

Yes, sorry, I apparently can't read or count.

missed that portion of the lesson on Pasta. In all reality, since I have been making pasta since I could stand, I don't think I really paid much attention to that area of the lesson. We always sort of dump a bunch of salt in the water. I don't think the pasta ever really absorbs more salt than it needs, except, perhaps fresh pasta. And since I am usually quite careful of my salt use, I guess I rarely over-salt anyway. Go for it Colleen, you ask the right questions, that's half the battle.

Since I first made this pasta, I've been using it as a base for many pasta recipes. I'll add asparagus, tomatoes and prosciutto....or peas and pancetta....the possibilities are endless. Love it!

And I've even used it as a base for a primavera with lots of veggiss. But you've got the gist Tricia...keep on cooking

I joined this site a couple of days ago because I am a master of making anything taste like rubber.

I tried this recipe last night, but I mixed way too much chili flakes and water in the pan, among other... "miscalculations". Suffice to say, I was left with a watery dish of garlic flavored pain.

Tonight, I got my act together and measured out the ingredients and everything worked out great! I will definitely be using this technique more often. :) I just have a few questions;

1) Why do you start with a pot of cold water? If the goal is to boil it, isn't it much faster to start with hot tap water?

2) Why do we wait until the pot is at a rapid boil before putting the salt in? I thought adding salt to water makes it boil faster?

Thanks for the great recipe,
-Kevin

Welcome to the site! Glad you liked the dish. For more information, refer to this drill-down: Salting Water for Cooking. Here is another thread that talks about starting with cold water. Cheers!

What does Aglio e Olio mean in Italian?