Aglio e Olio

Neapolitan «spaghettata di mezzanotte» — the after-midnight pasta — documented from 19th-century Naples as a poor man's dish made from pantry staples. Three ingredients always available: oil, garlic, dried chili. Often eaten as a second-meal after going out, hence the «midnight» tag. Its travel to Rome added Pecorino in some versions, but the canonical recipe stays cheese-free.

Naples insomniac food — spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, peperoncino, parsley. The pasta water is the fifth ingredient; without the starch emulsion you get oily noodles, not a sauce.

Pale spaghetti slicked with golden olive oil, thin garlic slivers gone amber and crisp at the edges, red chili flake speckled through, parsley scattered raw. No cheese in Naples; some Romans add Pecorino. The oil should coat the strand without pooling; raw garlic bite is wrong, burnt-bitter garlic is also wrong. The window between the two is about 30 seconds.

Cold start: garlic slivers go into cold oil, then brought up to medium-low together. Cold start lets the garlic slowly release its compounds without searing — sliced garlic in already-hot oil burns at the edges before the centers cook. Pull the pan off heat the second the slivers turn pale gold; carryover heat takes them to amber. A spoon of pasta water at the end emulsifies the oil into a sauce that clings.