Aglio e Olio

Trinacrian Chief Giuseppi Cucci is world renown for his Bistro recipes.
"Good cooking is no accident" he says, "A good meal is not difficult to make if you love to eat."
What! You're going to argue with an hot blooded Italian with a sharp knife?

Aglio e Olio with Thin Spaghetti
An easy one, two, three recipe.

One large pot of boiling water, one large sauté skillet, and a large platter. The platter is optional if you're tutto solo.
If you love to sing, all the better...Che gelida manina, or La rivedrá nell'estasi depending whither you like Puccini, or Verdi, both are nice to inspire a mood.

Clear away all unnecessary tools, chainsaws, etc. and arrange fresh ingredients on a clean counter top. Use the best that you can buy, or barter for. Were talking about Garlic and flat-leaf parsley, red peppers, extra virgin olive oil (the best pressed olive oil can't be purchased, or bartered for, it can only be a gift of love. Sorry it's a family thing, I hope you understand.)
Unless you live by the sea and have family members who fish... open a can of tuna packed in spring water (tuna fish packed in oil? It's a long story...companies use cotton seed oil, and cotton seed oil is not considered a food, so it could contain... poison pesticides.) If you have ever taken a cooking class from Mary Provenzano's Palermo home school on how to made and jar tuna fish in olive oil (a long process taking weeks to prepare) concider yourself truly blessed indeed. You may want to try a package of vacuum packed tuna, if so, increase the amount of olio in the recipe.

While your pasta is boiling, mash five cloves of aglio with the flat side of a knife. Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil, and sauté garlic until golden: golden, not brown, not golden brown, not burnt and bitter. Add in tuna fish and stir. Drain thin spaghetti and return to pot, and add oil and garlic. Isn't that easy?

Now you know how wonderful fresh sautéd garlic smells? We're talking vampire loathing comfort food. Toss in a hand full of chopped flat leaf parsley, diced red pepper, two or three twists from the pepper grinder (white pepper corns are best) and salt to taste while mixing.

If you like capers, add them. If you have a real wedge of Parmigiano, or Reggiano, grate on top. For God sake don't use the stuff that comes grated in a can, or Giuseppi will protest rather violently and wop ya with the broadside of his knife.

There is no need to be fancy if you live alone and spend much of your time in front of a computer screen. If you live without hot and cold running water, and doing the dishes is a hardship, by all means grab a fork and eat out of the pan, save the platter for sweets.

Aglio e Olio is a fast and cheap meal, best of all it's comfort food. If you're really blessed and have friends who give you loafs of "out of this world" Focaccia, and a bottle of their "primo" homemade wine. Hon, trust me when I say, "Bella Perfeziona."