Dinner · Italian-inspired
Creamy Garlic Pasta
A silky garlic cream sauce that comes together in one pan.
- Prep
- 10 mins
- Cook
- 20 mins
- Total
- 30 mins
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
This is the dinner to learn by heart. Six ingredients, one pan, and a sauce that tastes far richer than the effort involved.
The technique that matters is the pasta water. Those cloudy starches are what turn cream and cheese into a sauce that actually coats the noodles rather than sliding off them.
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the salt. It should taste properly seasoned.
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Cook the pasta until 1 minute short of the package time for al dente. Before draining, reserve 300ml of the starchy cooking water.
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While the pasta cooks, melt the butter with the olive oil in a large pan over medium-low heat.
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Add the sliced garlic and chilli flakes. Cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic is pale gold and fragrant. Pull the pan off the heat the moment it starts to colour — browned garlic turns bitter.
Pale gold is the target. Any darker and the garlic turns bitter. -
Pour in the cream and bring to a bare simmer. Let it bubble gently for 3 minutes until slightly thickened.
-
Lower the heat and add the parmesan in three handfuls, stirring after each until melted and smooth.
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Add the drained pasta directly to the pan along with 120ml of the reserved pasta water. Toss vigorously with tongs for 1 to 2 minutes — the sauce will tighten around the strands.
Toss hard — agitation is what emulsifies the sauce. -
Add more pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce coats the pasta glossily. Season with black pepper and salt, fold through the parsley and serve straight away.
Tips from our kitchen
- Grate the parmesan yourself. Pre-grated cheese is coated in anti-caking starch that leaves the sauce grainy.
- Add the cheese off direct heat. Boiling cream will split the parmesan and turn the sauce stringy.
- This sauce waits for nobody — have everyone at the table before the pasta goes into the pan.
- To make it a full meal, fold in a handful of spinach or some leftover roast chicken at the final tossing stage.
