The One Pasta Sauce You Absolutely Must Know!
AGLIO E OLIO BY DANIEL GRITZER If there were a pasta bible, the first line would read, "In the beginning, God created aglio e olio." Historically, that line wouldn't really be accurate, since the evidence doesn't support the idea that garlic (aglio) and oil (olio) were the original accompaniments to pasta. But structurally—and by that I mean the way most pasta sauces today are cooked—aglio and olio are almost always the first step. From arrabbiata to marinara, alle vongole to puttanesca, each sauce begins by gently cooking garlic in oil. Even pesto, which is never cooked, has at its base a purée of garlic suspended in oil. The beautiful thing about those two building blocks, though, is that not only are they essential components of so many other sauces, but they also make one of the greatest pasta sauces all on their own. Aglio e olio, I think it's safe to claim, is th...