It wasn’t midnight when I made midnight spaghetti yesterday for a late supper. But it was later than our usual 6 PM meal when I finally got back to the kitchen to cook.

The reason? The intense summer heat that continues here on my little patch of heaven in southwestern Ohio and how it’s affecting our baker’s dozen flock of chickens. 

Now the chickens usually hang out during the heat of the day in the vegetable or herb garden where they “dust” themselves in the soil while being shaded by plants.

The flock usually makes their way to the coop when I call them in early evening. Not this time. They finally surfaced from of all places the hill behind their coop which borders the East Fork river. Then it dawned on me – the hill is secluded and cool and close to the water’s edge. I lured them into the run with a bowl of watermelon rinds. 

That’s where midnight spaghetti came in. Simple and fast, midnight spaghetti, sometimes called Aglio & Olio, is pasta dressed with a mouth-watering sauce of garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.  Traditionally, it’s late night comfort food quickly whipped up after an evening of partying. In our case, an evening on the lookout for stray poultry. 

I had a yummy, satisfying meal on the table in less than 15 minutes with little effort. Here’s how I made it.

Midnight spaghetti

Recipes call for 1 pound of pasta. We like our pasta pretty saucy, so I used 12 oz. 

Ingredients

12-16 oz spaghetti or other pasta

1 cup or so reserved pasta water

1/3 cup olive oil – I used extra virgin olive oil plus extra for garnish

Garlic – I used almost 2 tablespoons minced but some recipes call for up to 8 cloves garlic, slivered so you do what you like

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 

Parmesan cheese –  a generous cup or so

Salt to taste

Optional but good: Fresh basil and parsley, minced

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Reserve a generous cup of pasta water to thin sauce. To remind yourself, place measuring cup in colander. 

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a big skillet large enough to hold pasta.

Add garlic and cook, stirring until it starts to turn golden. Don’t overcook  or it will turn dark and burn. 

Stir in pepper for about a minute. This helps distribute pepper’s heat.

Pour in about half reserved pasta water into garlic mixture and bring to gentle boil. Turn heat to low, then simmer until liquid is reduced a bit to your liking, about 5 minutes. 

Season with salt.

Add drained, hot pasta to garlic sauce and toss. If you need more water, add it. 

Remove from heat, add herbs and Parmesan and mix well. Let sit few minutes to absorb sauce. 

Taste and adjust seasonings. 

Sprinkle a little more cheese and olive oil on top before serving.

I did have some nasturtium petals and garnished the pasta with those. See the yellow?