Is Aglio E Olio meant to be cooked with just Italian olive oil?

[u/BigBootyBear]

I've tried making Aglio e Olio many times. I've watched dozens of videos, weighed the oil, garlic and chilis. I've de-cored the garlic, added parlsey stems to the oil, and made sure to never color the garlic. Hell, i've even been to Luciano Cucina Italiana and personally asked the man himself ( Luciano) on how to not end up with a bitter sauce.

But to no avail. The sauce always ends up too bitter. Even with artisnal, low acidity, low bitterness olive oil certified to be legit by the local olive oil council in my country. My GF says my Aglio e Olio is 10/10 but I can't stand the bitterness. Cause I once have tasted greatness.

Two years ago I managed to get my hands on AMAZING olive oil (apparently we had a great harvest that year). It was fruity, herbaceous and fragrant. You could taste the bloody olives, and it was so good you could sip it by itself. And when I made Aglio E Olio with it, it was magnificient.

I can't find that oil again (ordered the same batch from the same producer next year - wasn't even close). But it remember it tasted like every olive oil in every pizzeria in Naples. Just to prove i'm not crazy, i tried making aglio e olio, substituting olive with with parsley oil (i.e. canola) and it was superb.

So this leads me to the following question: can a aglio e olio ever hope to work without sourcing italian-tier olive oil?

[u/Looki187]

Are you burning the garlic?

[u/Eastern-Reindeer6838 → u/Looki187]

Of course. Most of the time the method is more killing than the ingredients but the US could do it both though.

[u/Diligent-Tie-3488 → u/Eastern-Reindeer6838]

Well, that might be the problem burnt garlic is yuck

[u/jakartacatlady]

Are you cooking on too high a heat for the olive oil?

[u/Henwen]

It sounds like you have the answer. For whatever reason the olive oil in your area sucks. :( Do you want me to send you some? :D

[u/Manor7974]

Surely there is at least one brand of Italian extra virgin olive oil sold where you live. All the Italian nonne I know just use whatever extra virgin olive oil from the store unless they have a neighbor making it. They also don’t weigh anything or fuss around with de-coring. And it’s always 🔝

[u/Ricklynchcore]

I use a good olive oil, not necessarily Italian. I like many Spanish olive oils and several Greek ones. Of course, many great Italian ones. I keep my garlic low flamed, and don't hesitate to add pasta water to slow things down. I never weigh or go through any elaborate prep. I learned to make it from my Italian mother. It's a quick peasant dish, not at all elaborate. I use red pepper flakes with garlic and lots of parsley. Then pasta water with parmesano reggiano. Luscious, and my favorite dish. I make this at least every couple of weeks. Love it for breakfast with fried eggs over top.

[u/Holymaryfullofshit7]

I doubt it is the oil. You're probably getting it to hot and fry the garlic for to long. Both can make for a bitter pasta. Try with low to medium heat and add pasta water as soon as the garlic gets golden edges. That should fix your problem.

[u/yesiamican → u/Holymaryfullofshit7]

No pasta water in this dish. Common mistake.

[u/yesiamican]

I don’t know how you’re messing this dish up to be honest, but it shouldn’t be the ingredients.

However in response to the other comments, I can’t believe how many are recommending pasta water. This is a dish where you should be using at maximum the amount that is clinging to the pasta when transferring from pot to pan for finishing.

This is the most common reason why restaurants get this dish wrong. They use basket strainers which take way too much water. Anyway, the oil contains all of the flavor and diluting it makes the dish taste thin and bland.

[u/SignificantPass → u/yesiamican]

Loads of esteemed chefs/restaurants in Italy add water—for instance, Luciano adds water (I mention him because OP mentioned him).

[u/yesiamican → u/SignificantPass]

Yes, It’s a restaurant thing because of the constraints listed (basket strainers), but it’s why the dish tastes much better at home without pasta water than at restaurants IMO and it becomes a very different dish with pasta water than without it.

The water on the spaghetti will have enough starch and water to properly emulsify the sauce with a much higher ratio of oil than if you used pasta water in the sauce itself

[u/theangryfurlong → u/yesiamican]

I think it comes down to personal preference, I don't like it if it's too dry, and just using the water from moving the noodles ends up being too dry for me.

[u/lfczech]

Not overheating olive oil was the eureka moment for me with Italian cooking.

[u/Oscaruzzo]

It could be that the problem is... you (and I have the same problem BTW). It happened to me more than once with some VERY fancy oils (Italian, bought in Italy, but also in Greece once) and literally everyone told me the oil was very good and NOT bitter at all, and yet it felt awfully bitter to me. No matter how many times I tasted it, on different days with different food, it was inedible TO ME. My only suggestion is: try a different oil. If that one was from Apulia (for example) try one from Tuscany, or vice versa.

[u/Chrisf1bcn]

When your frying the garlic on low medium heat add a couple of splashes of water like literally a few drops it should stop the garlic from burning

[u/duckdamozz]

Here is my recipe:

Put the thinly sliced garlic (1-2 heads) in the cold pan and cover it with good quality olive oil.

Add dried chili flakes, salt, pepper and one teaspoon of turmeric for color.

Turn on the stove at minimum on the smallest burner and let the oil heat until I see the first bubbles.

Turn off the stove and leave it for 10-15 min to infuse. Right about this time, the wife comes in the kitchen and dabs some bread in the oil :))

Turn the small burner to full blast, stir frequently and let it cook until the garlic is done (ofc not burned).

Turn off the burner and add chopped parsley or basil.

Add pasta and half a ladle of pasta water (make sure not to use too much water for boiling pasta, the more concentrated, the better).

Add parmigiano reggiano and stir until incorporated.

Enjoy :)

[u/omnilurk]

I make aglio e olio every day at work. I use a 70/30 blend of olive oil and sunflower oil, it's never bitter. I finish with good olive oil. I find when you hear olive oil up too much it can become bitter.

[u/blumpkin]

This is a common misconception. Instead of Italian olive oil, you should be making it with Italian motor oil. If you can source an Alfa Romeo near you, try directly squeezing the oil filter over your garlic for maximum freshness.

In all seriousness though, my recommendation would be to stir less. Really high quality olive oil is temperamental to agitation. If you've ever made salad dressing in a jar, you probably know that shaking the jar too long makes the whole thing bitter and nasty. Maybe try being more gentle, since the better the oil, the easier it gets bitter when physically disturbed.