Garlic Cream Peperoncino (Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino)

Split or crush the garlic with the back of the knife and peel it, then cut in from both sides to remove the germ. Tear the chili pepper by hand (set the seeds aside too if you want it spicier), and finely chop plenty of Italian parsley.

Put the garlic in a frying pan and pour in the olive oil. The right amount is when the garlic just barely peeks out as you tilt the pan.

Add the torn chili pepper and the seeds, then set over heat. Heat until the whole pan starts to bubble.

In a separate pot, bring 2 L of water to a boil and add 30 g of salt (1.5%). Don't start cooking right away — let the salt dissolve completely and taste to check that it is as salty as seawater to soup, then cook the spaghetti.

Once the garlic is bubbling all over, turn off the heat and let the residual heat of the oil cook the garlic slowly. Cook it soft, without adding color or toastiness.

When the garlic is cooked through, crush it with a fork to transfer all of its mellow aroma into the olive oil.

Add the pasta cooking water. For emulsifying like a dressing, 1 part oil to 1 part water is ideal, but water evaporates as it heats, so add about 3 times the amount of oil.

Add just a small amount of fish sauce for umami to balance the overall flavor (anchovy, cheese, mentsuyu, or shiro-dashi can be substituted). Keep it to a small amount that only supports the garlic sauce.

With the heat still off, blend with an immersion blender (a regular blender also works) to emulsify. It becomes a silky sauce like garlic potage.

Just before the pasta is done, taste and adjust the sauce, and stir in half of the chopped Italian parsley.

Drain the pasta 30 seconds before it is done, add it to the sauce, and toss over heat. Since the sauce is emulsified, it coats the pasta creamily with just tossing.

Plate and scatter over the remaining Italian parsley. Finish with grated lemon zest and chili to taste.