Only four ingredients? Yes! Crispy chilli oil delivers such an incredible bomb of flavour it doesn’t need anything more than a bit of butter and a handful of cheese to make a superlative pasta sauce. This dish is the spice lover’s version of Cacio e Pepe.
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Yields:
2
Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
25 mins
Cal/Serv:
557
Ingredients
175g
bucatini or spaghetti
15g
butter
3tsp.
crispy chilli oil, plus optional extra to serve
75g
Parmesan or pecorino, finely grates, plus optional extra to serve
Directions
Step 1 Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and
cook pasta according
to pack instructions.
Halfway through cooking,
carefully scoop out
150ml of the starchy
pasta water to a bowl.
Step 2While pasta is
cooking, melt the butter
in a medium frying pan over low heat. Measure
out the chilli oil, getting
about 2tsp of the crispy
solids (scoop from the
bottom of the jar, tipping
out excess oil as you do),
plus 1tsp of just the
flavoured oil, and cook
until starting to smell
toasty and aromatic.
Remove from heat.
Step 3Add the grated cheese
to the water in the bowl
and whisk together until
fairly smooth.
Step 4Drain pasta and add to
the butter pan with the
cheese mixture. Carefully
toss together until any
remaining blobs of cheese
have melted and the
sauce coats the pasta
– this may take a couple
of min. Serve with extra
grated cheese and/or
chilli oil, if you like.
Crispy chilli oils vary in heat level, so start with 3tsp and you can always spoon on a little more to serve.
Emma is Cookery Editor for Good Housekeeping and loves nothing more than sharing her bottomless enthusiasm for all things food and drink with anyone who wants to learn (and even those who don’t!). From super simple one pan suppers to showstopping wedding cakes and everything in between, there’s very little that doesn’t come out of her kitchen. When not developing recipes, writing features or styling food for photography she can be found hiding behind the mountain of cookery books that’s slowly overtaking her house, or exploring restaurants, food shops and festivals in search of the next big thing to share with readers. On the rare days when she’s not thinking about food, you’ll find her in a cosy pub at the end of a long walk with her dog and expert food taster, Angua.
