Peperoncino

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt at 1% of the water. Use a smaller amount of water so the cooking water becomes concentrated, since you will use it later. Start cooking the spaghetti.

Crush the garlic with the flat of a knife, then chop it coarsely. Chopping it roughly and unevenly gives you a mix of browned and pale garlic for added character.

Halve the chili pepper. Leave the seeds in so none of the heat is lost.

Put the garlic and chili in the pan before turning on the heat, pour in the olive oil, then set it over low heat. Over high heat they brown before cooking through, so cook them slowly over properly low heat.

Use the Italian parsley stems and all. Cut it in half, cut it in half again, and chop it coarsely. Chopping it too finely mutes the aroma, so keep it coarse.

Once the garlic plumps up, salt the garlic in the pan. Seasoning the garlic itself draws out its savoriness.

When the pasta is done, move it straight into the pan with tongs instead of draining it in a colander. This keeps the cooking water.

Add plenty of the pasta water, raise the heat a little, and simmer the pasta for about a minute. The starch from the pasta brings out its savoriness. If it runs short of liquid, add plain water rather than pasta water (to keep it from getting too salty).

Finish by adding the Italian parsley, tossing everything together until the pasta is glossy and coated.

The emulsion should be only halfway there. Do not let it get too thick — add water at the end to adjust to the consistency you like and finish it glossy.

Plate the pasta and scrape all the flavorful oil left in the pan over it with a rubber spatula to finish.