I like mine very simple. A lot of garlic. Like, a whole bunch more than I’ve seen other people use. I slice them thin but not paper thin, not thick either. Medium thin. A quarter cup or so of olive oil in my high walled frying pan. Let it get to frying temp and add the garlic. I cook that until all the edges are golden, even a little brown, I do not mind a slight crunch at all. Of course you’ve got to be careful because it’ll turn bitter on you if you don’t watch it. I add a small palmful of red pepper flakes, stir that around a bit, then add a ladle of the pasta water (which I salted VERY heavily, since I don’t add salt anywhere else). Sometimes, if I’m feeling extra spicy, I’ll add a spoonful of jarred crushed garlic before the water. I let that cook down a bunch, then tong in the pasta while mixing.
Yeah, I like garlic. And that’s it. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy-- which I may or may not also add.
I start the garlic in cold oil and use 6 - 8 cloves also for 2 regular/one big boy serving because the frying makes the garlic very mild. Just a low to moderate heat and then tons of red and black pepper in the oil just as the garlic starts to take on some color.
We add some butter to the oil before tossing in the garlic, which also adds a little salt. Otherwise, same. I’ll have to try the chile flakes or crushed black pepper next time.
I make it similarly, although I prefer to crush and mince my garlic rather than slice, for more garlicky flavor. And never jarred garlic, vile stuff. Sometimes I use both black and red pepper, usually just black, freshly milled.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned adding Parmesan to the sauce. It’s pretty standard and produces a creamier mixture. The cited recipe calls for half a cup to be added, and another half reserved for sprinkling on top of the spaghetti later.
Mine is heavy on the butter because I use at least half a stick of Provencal garlic butter. In fact the first time I made it I used only garlic butter, but without actual garlic it’s not garlicky enough. Recipes also typically call for Italian parsley but I don’t usually have that on hand and find it makes little difference. Sometime I’ll sprinkle in a bit of dried parsley for appearance. I don’t use red pepper flakes. The end result – with lots of garlic butter and melted Parmesan – is extra smooth.
As for jarred garlic being vile, yes, many are. I used to have a jar of such stuff in the fridge for a long time and ended up throwing it out. But if I’m feeling lazy or don’t happen to have real garlic around, I’ve found a prepared chopped garlic in soybean oil and water that is actually pretty decent, even if the idea makes purists and serious chefs shudder. The trick is to fry it for only a very short time as it burns easily.
I honestly don’t count. I keep slicing garlic until I don’t wanna slice no more garlic.
And jarred garlic isn’t vile, just like garlic powder isn’t vile. It isn’t a replacement for fresh garlic and if you use it that way, then I can see why you’d think that. And I don’t know what kind y’all are using but the one I use is just chopped garlic in water and it taste EXACTLY like chopped garlic stored in water for a bit.
“Slice garlic until you don’t wanna slice no more” is the best garlic-based cooking instruction since Lore Sjoberg’s “add garlic to pizza until the box catches fire”.
It would have at least been pasteurized, since dying from botulism is bad. And I haven’t seen any brand of jarred chopped garlic without phosphoric acid or citric acid added for shelf stabilization. All of which interfere with with the flavor, IMO. Most importantly though the volatiles in garlic are pretty short lived - once it’s cut or crushed, the flavor goes from sweet to sharp pretty quickly. So yes, i find the flavor of garlic chopped garlic stored in water for a bit to be pretty bad. It only takes a few seconds for me to crush and mince a few bulbs of fresh garlic.
The trick is to fry it for only a very short time as it burns easily.