Garlic-Infused Oil Pasta with Parmesan

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp salt (for the pasta water)
• 400g gluten-free spaghetti
• 100g baby spinach (optional)
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 60ml garlic-infused oil
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 15g spring onion greens, sliced (optional)
• 80g grated Parmesan
• 1 lemon, zest and a little juice
• 15g parsley, chopped
• 40g pine nuts, lightly toasted (optional)
• ciabatta, to serve
• rocket and cherry tomato salad, to serve

Method

1. Salt the pasta water generously — it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the spaghetti itself, and gluten-free pasta especially needs it. Bring a large pot to a rolling boil and cook the spaghetti until just al dente with a firm bite, 8–10 minutes depending on the packet. Taste a strand at the lower end of the timing — gluten-free goes from firm to mushy quickly, so pull it the moment it bends with a little resistance left in the centre.
2. Before draining, scoop out 250ml of the starchy water and set it aside. This cloudy liquid is what turns oil and cheese into a glossy sauce — without it you've just got greasy pasta.
3. While the pasta cooks, warm the garlic-infused oil in a large shallow frying pan over a medium heat with the chilli flakes, 1–2 minutes until fragrant and shimmering. Watch it — the oil is already carrying the garlic flavour, so you're warming, not frying. If it starts to smoke or the chilli darkens past red, pull it off the heat. Burnt chilli turns the whole dish bitter.
4. Add the toasted pine nuts to the warm oil for 30 seconds to wake them up, then tear in the baby spinach and stir for another 30 seconds until just wilted and glossy.
5. Drag the drained spaghetti straight into the pan with a generous splash of the reserved pasta water and toss vigorously over a medium heat. You're working the starch and oil into an emulsion — keep the pasta moving for a full minute until the sauce thickens and clings to each strand rather than pooling.
6. Pull the pan off the heat. Add the grated Parmesan, the lemon zest and a good squeeze of lemon juice, then toss again, loosening with more pasta water a splash at a time until you have a silky, creamy coating. Off the heat matters — Parmesan added to a screaming-hot pan goes claggy and clumps.
7. Season with the black pepper and a pinch of salt, then taste. Taste again. Adjust now — most of the salt is in the pasta water and the Parmesan, but it almost always wants a final pinch to tie everything together.
8. Tip into warm bowls while the strands are still glossy. Scatter the chopped parsley and the spring onion greens over the top, and serve with warm ciabatta for mopping and the rocket and cherry tomato salad alongside.