Garlic Butter Pasta with Parmesan
This garlic butter pasta is silky, glossy and ready in minutes with butter, fresh garlic, parmesan and pasta water. A simple but incredibly delicious dinner.
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 200 grams dried pasta or 300 grams fresh
- 50 grams butter see notes on salted vs unsalted
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3-4 garlic cloves finely minced
- 40 grams Parmesan cheese finely grated
- salt to taste
Optional
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup Italian parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Bring a pot of well salted water to the boil. Reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
- When the pasta has four minutes left to cook, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the black pepper, minced garlic (and red pepper flakes if using) and cook for about 30–60 seconds, stirring, until fragrant. Be careful not to let it brown.
- Add ¼ cup of pasta water straight from the pot to the skillet and whisk vigorously to combine the butter and water into a light sauce. I like to shake the pan back and forth with my left hand while whisking with my right.
- Let it gently simmer for a minute.
- Transfer the pasta straight into the skillet and toss well to coat in the garlic butter.
- Sprinkle the finely grated parmesan in an even layer over the pasta. Leave it to gently melt over a very low heat for about a minute, undisturbed.
- With tongs toss or spin continuously until the cheese melts into the sauce and it becomes silky and emulsified.
- Add another splash of pasta water and toss if needed to loosen the sauce and make it slightly more creamy. Season to taste. If you have used salted butter you shouldn't need to add salt.
- Mix the parsley through if using then serve straight away.
Video
Notes
Salted vs unsalted butter - Both work well. I often use salted butter as it seasons the sauce from the start, but if using unsalted simply adjust the salt at the end.
Garlic - Freshly minced garlic gives the best flavor here. Jarred garlic doesn’t have the same taste. I used three big cloves, it really depends on the size you have and how strong you want it to be.
Finely grated parmesan - Use a microplane or grind the parmesan into a powder so it melts smoothly into the sauce without clumping. I grind it with a smoothie maker.
Keep the heat gentle - When adding the parmesan, keep the heat very low so the cheese melts smoothly and the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.