Aglio e Olio

Or as Farha likes to call it, ugly-o-ugliolio. This recipe is an Italian remix to an ordinary simple pasta dish. After reading Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat Love Pray" and watching the horrific movie that had us dozing off in 20 minute intervals, the only thing that kept us consistently awake was the part where Gilbert goes to Italy. The food looked so incredibly INCREDIBLE; for lack of better words. Anywho, this pasta dish is the simplest but one of the most delicious dishes you'll ever have, trust me, I promise. The beauty about it is that you can eat it with almost any accompaniment. We had ours with Lamb Chops, a simple romaine/olive salad and Tomato Bruschetta. You could have it alongside Thai salt/pepper shrimp or el solo. This recipe was inspired by Mary Kay Culpepper's "Cooking Light Italian" and Chef John's "Food Wishes."
PS: For those who have been put off by the movie, do read the book "Eat Love Pray"; it is sappy, girly and ridiculously awesome.

What You'll Need:

• 6 quarts water
• 1lb. Vermicelli Pasta
• 2 tsp. Salt (for Pasta)
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• A head of garlic (10 cloves) thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 cup White Mushrooms roughly sliced

Procedure:

• Bring the water to a boil plus 2 tsp of salt in a large pot. Add the pasta and cook until it is al dente or to your liking (about 8 minutes.) Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. 
• Over medium heat, put the oil in a large non-stick pan and saute garlic and mushrooms for about 2 minutes, or until garlic is light golden. Make sure that the heat is not on high as you want to infuse the garlic into the oil rather than just frying it.
• To the pan, add the reserved pasta water and salt/pepper to taste.
• Add the cooked pasta into a deep serving dish and pour the garlic sauce onto it. 
• Add the red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese and parsley into the pasta mixture and toss. 
• Serve immediately.