Today’s recipe is one that I’ve made in my kitchen at least 100 times.
It’s nothing fancy. It’s not filled with trendy ingredients. It’s not particularly healthy (or unhealthy). It’s certainly not difficult to make. And it’s definitely not going to win any beauty awards with food styling. But oh my goodness, for some reason, I absolutely love this simple pasta.
I actually shared this recipe on the blog a few years ago. But after making it again the other day for the zillionth time, I thought it might be worth bumping it back to the top of the blog to share with you once more. Maybe I’m the only one who loves it so much. But whenever life gets busy and I find myself craving a bowl of carb-y comfort food, this easy pasta is my go-to indulgence. It’s ridiculously easy to make, it calls for 5 simple ingredients that I almost always have on hand, it’s remarkably flavorful with such few ingredients, it’s easy to customize with extra ingredients if you’d like, and — in my long history with this dish — it always hits the spot.
I’ve tinkered around with the dish a bit over the years — trying out different cheeses (I was big into huge shaves of Parmesan 3 years ago when I first photographed this dish), subbing in different kinds of pastas (DeLallo’s whole wheat is always a fav), pouring a splash of white wine into the sauce, or adding in other proteins and veggies (sauteed shrimp and asparagus are always a good idea).
But most of the time, I really just love making this dish with 5 very simple ingredients:
- good-quality olive oil
- tons of fresh baby arugula (the more the merrier)
- pasta (I’ll admit, I go old-school and treat myself to semolina pasta for this dish)
- lots of freshly-grated Parmesan
- and just about as much thinly-sliced garlic as you can take (the more, the merrier for me!)
To make the dish, simply cook the pasta al dente in a large stockpot of generously-salted water. (Don’t skip the salt — it’s essential for bringing out the delicious flavor in the pasta!)
Then while your pasta is cooking, saute your garlic in the olive oil (or melted butter) until it is just lightly golden. Add the garlic and oil to the pasta once it has been cooked and drained — along with tons of arugula and Parmesan — and toss it all until combined.
(Also, if I happen to have toasted pine nuts on hand, I’ll toss them in for an extra treat!)
And then voila — in less than 30 minutes, this deliciousness will be ready to go.
Again, to many, it may be nothing extraordinary. And because of that, I hesitated even posting it on the blog in the first place. But hey — this lil’ blog is the place where I share things that I love. So behold, one of my loves. :)
Hope that you may find it as comforting and delightful as I do.
Linguini with Arugula, Garlic & Parmesan
Ingredients
- 12 ounces linguine or other dried pasta
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 7 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 very large handfuls (about 5 ounces) baby arugula
- 1/2 cup freshly shredded or shaved Parmesan, plus extra for topping
- (optional: 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts)
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente in a large stockpot of generously-salted water according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil (or melt the butter) in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until it begins to turn just slightly golden. Remove from heat. (And if the pasta is not yet ready, transfer the garlic to a separate dish to prevent it from overcooking.)
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it. Then immediately stir in the garlic and olive oil mixture, arugula, and Parmesan cheese. Toss until combined.
- Serve immediately, topped with extra Parmesan cheese (and toasted pine nuts, if using).
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This is totally my kinda meal. Simple and perfect. Pretty pictures!!
Pretty sure I could eat this every day. I love simple pasta recipes, and you can’t go wrong with arugula, garlic, and parmesan. Yum!
That sounds yummy.
My favorite quick recipe at the moment is to poach eggs, but instead of poaching them in water I use Marinara Sauce. The sauce is thicker and means the eggs hold together easier. 6 minutes in the sauce and they are done. I then serve them on pasta or toast with some Parmesan on top!
That looks utterly amazing! Wish we were neighbors…. ;)
This looks so fancy and so not like the quick meals I make (like popcorn or frozen burritos. The shame. :))! Going to have to try this soon.
Love these kind of meals! Greens and pasta, I’ll take it now please!
I love how simple this is & I love seeing how people eat ‘behind the blog’. We tend to go for simple meals like this more often than not because they’re quick and delicious and make us happy.
This looks great! My new favorite pasta dish is pumpkin penne with arugula and mushrooms (and I just posted the recipe today, what are the odds!)
I totally agree with you about the food blogger thing: I also eat a lot of very simple meals. This will be one of them :)
Oh my goodness that looks wonderful. Going to try it next time in place of MY favorite go-to recipe, spaghettini with garlic, green olives, tomatoes and parmesan.
I love everything about this pasta!! Our favorite go-to is sausage, kale and fire roasted tomatoes. :)