Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, & Red Pepper Flakes

Lately I feel as though I don't want to cook.  Inspiration is hard to come by, and I'm just scouring the cupboards for something quick, easy, and minimally messy.  Enter the "From the Pantry" section of Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian.  This section is really short - just three recipes.  It really doesn't matter, because the "Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, & Red Pepper Flakes" recipe is all this section needs.  Lazy weekday evening, here I come!



Fixins:

• Salt
• 1 lb dried spaghetti
• 1/2 cup EVOO
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (had none)
• 1 Tbs fresh basil
• 1 Tbs fresh mint (had none)

Cook the spaghetti & reserve the cooking liquid.  Saute garlic in olive oil.  The recipe says to discard the garlic after this, but I love me some garlic, so I sauteed the garlic simultaneously with the red garlic flakes (next step!)  Just make sure not to let your garlic turn bitter.  Add a little of the reserved cooking liquid and the salt.  Toss your spaghetti in the pan with all that goodness, then season to taste.  Transfer it to your serving vessel and toss it with the fresh herbs.  I topped mine with a little grated parmesan.  In less than 20 minutes, dinner is on the table.  No shopping required!

Result:

I was so hungry that night, I ate my serving before I remembered to take a picture, so here's a pic of my leftovers container (later demolished by a hungry husband...time to come up with another lunch plan!)  The pasta was salty and spicy, but not too spicy.  The herbs add freshness to an otherwise "pantry" meal.  I really liked the parmesan with this, but then again, I am a cheese-aholic.


Repeat:

I'm already planning to repeat this with some really nice Italian pasta I received.  This recipe really lets the pasta shine in all its semolina glory, so I'm looking forward to trying with the fancy pasta.  It's so quick to make and so tasty!  It would make a very easy side dish, but I'm fine without the meat and with this recipe I certainly didn't miss it!

Update on 12/31/12: Here's the result pic with the fancy pasta, plus all of the herbs from the original recipe!

What is your favorite go-to meal from the pantry?