Spaghetti Aglio Ol-Yum!

Browsing through pictures of food on the Internet during the wee hours of the morning isn't really a good idea especially when you can't do anything to that grumbling stomach at 1 am. After a vain trip to the fridge, I opened the cupboard and saw nothing but the stock of ingredients we have for cooking. I went to bed that early morning still thinking about food, and had a magnificent idea of cooking when I wake up later that day. With what I found in the cupboard came the birth of unique pasta recipe on my mind.

So, here's what I found:

garlic; 555 Spanish-style Sardines in oil; Doña Elena Pure Olive Oil; Ideal Gourmet spaghetti

For my Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Spanish-style Sardines, I used half of the 450-g pack of spaghetti that we have since I thought I was only cooking for two people aka me and my very hungry self. I just estimated the measurements of the other ingredients and adjusted according to my taste.

Initially, I cooked the pasta according to the directions on the package. While waiting for the pasta to cook, I separated the sardines and the oil from the can. For the oil and garlic mixture, I heated about half a cup of pure olive oil in a deep frying pan. I know authentic Aglio Olio recipes call for extra virgin olive oil, but we only have pure olive oil at the moment so I used the latter instead. I then added the garlic (about five to seven cloves) that I have chopped earlier to the oil and let the garlic turn a little golden brown. Next, I added the shredded/chopped sardines to the oil and garlic. I used only a piece and a half of the sardines from the can since I didn't want the sardine flavor to overpower the garlicky taste. I also added about two teaspoons of the oil from the canned sardines to the mixture. All the heating and mixing was done in very low heat, and then I added the drained spaghetti to the pan and tossed until the ingredients have been mixed very well.

After cooking, I put the Spaghetti Aglio Olio on a plate and topped it with some toasted bread crumbs and shredded sardines. And here's the end product:

Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Spanish-style Sardines

I let my mom have a taste of my latest kitchen experiment and she said it was acceptable except for the noodles not being al dente. I figured it was probably because the pasta lost its moisture while I was tossing it with the oil in the pan, since the stove was still on a low heat that time. Personally, I could have added a little more garlic (probably used a whole bulb instead of half) so that the garlic taste, and not the sardine flavor, will stand out; after all, this is an Aglio Olio recipe. My food photography and plating skills are close to zero so please bear with my pictures.

Watch out for our next adventure, our first restaurant feature :D Happy eating!

<3, Oshin