Spaghettini with Oil and Garlic - February's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

It's February and time to share another meal from the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  This month's theme is Healthy Italian.  My sister-in-law, Aggie, chose this theme.  And for good reason, she's Italian.  Aggie and her family make incredible Italian food.  My husband is half Italian (on his mother's side) and my mother-in-law makes wonderful Italian food.  I'm still trying to copy and perfect her spaghetti and meatball recipe.  When I think of Italian food, I think of lasagna, pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli, chicken and eggplant parmesan.  All of these are wonderful foods but they are also heavy on the calories and fat.  So, I was excited to find some "healthier" Italian dishes through Cooking Light recipes. 

I chose to make Spaghettini with Oil and Garlic.  A simple dish to put together with a few basic ingredients.  Don't be afraid of the 10 cloves of garlic that is used in the recipe.  It flavors the olive oil and the pasta.  When I was making this dish, I didn't think it would have much flavor.  But, boy, was I wrong.  It uses only 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a full pound of pasta. (I used thin spaghetti) But the red pepper flakes gives it some heat, the garlic infuses in the olive oil and the parmesan cheese just tops it off perfectly. I used Parmigiano Reggiano, since that's what I had on hand.  If you can splurge, I would recommend using the "good" stuff.  If not, any grated parmesan cheese will work.  This was a wonderful weeknight meal.  We all loved it.  I paired it with a salad and garlic bread.

Click here for the Spaghettini with Oil and Garlic on Myrecipes.com.

Check out these Healthy Italian dishes presented by the other members of the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  Click on their links to read about their recipes and see their photos.

Helene (La Cuisine d'Helene) - Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Salad

Val (More Than Burnt Toast) - Italian Stuffed Summer Vegetables

Jamie (Mom's Cooking Club) - Spaghettini with Oil and Garlic

Aggie (Aggie's Kitchen) - Shrimp Arrabbiata

Shelby (The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch) - could not join us this month

Go to Cooking Light's blog, Test Kitchen Secrets, to read about the Virtual Supper Club.

Our March theme will be, "A Taste of Spring".  So come back then (or sooner) to see what menu we have planned.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  My dish with the simple garlic and olive oil sauce is known as Aglio e Olio and is a traditional Italian pasta dish.  Make it as a side dish or how I made it, as a main dish.