“There are five elements: earth, air, fire, water and garlic.” Louis Diat
April is #NationalGarlicMonth and today I'm getting together with some foodie friends to celebrate the delightful Alium. Being Italian, garlic is a staple item in most of my favorite dishes and I always have some on hand.
There were so many recipes I looked at for this event but then I decided that simple was best and chose Garlic Butter Pasta from Taste of Home. How can you go wrong with garlic, butter, cheese and some seasoning?
I have two types of garlic press and love them both for different reasons. The Joseph Joseph rocker I like for peeled cloves. It's easy to use and easy to clean. They also make an all stainless version which I have my eye on.
I also have an OXO Good Grips that is great for unpeeled cloves, but it's a bit harder to clean. It's great when I'm doing a lot of cloves.This version has been discontinued but there are others like it available. Both can be popped into the dishwasher or they can be washed by hand.
Speaking of hands, did you know the best way to get the garlic smell off of your hands is to run them over something stainless steel, like your faucet or a spoon? They also sell special bars that you can keep by the sink.
Once you've got enough garlic, toss it in a 10" skillet with a stick of butter and cook it for 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat. You want to melt the butter and release the garlicky goodness into it, but keep it moving so the garlic doesn't burn.
Whoops, forgot to tell you to put the water on and get your pasta going because I was so excited to show off my garlic presses. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it well and then add it to the garlic butter.
Add in the Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and give it a good stir. You could also use basil, oregano or Italian seasoning. I personally like a little heat but my guys don't, so I added crushed red pepper flakes to my plate.
You can just see the little bits of garlic but don't worry, the flavor is infused into the butter and that's coating every bite of pasta. We loved this as a side dish with some chicken, and I enjoyed the leftovers with some cooked Italian sausage and sauteed peppers and onions mixed in the next day.
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Garlic Butter Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked small pasta shells, alphabet pasta or ring macaroni
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook garlic in butter over medium-low heat until mixture is fragrant, 4-5 minutes; remove from heat.
- Drain pasta; add to garlic butter. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper; toss to coat.
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