Sunday was the feast day of San Giuseppe. Around here, it is a particularly big hoo-ha of a day as Giuseppe is the patron saint of La Spezia, and it is also Father’s Day. The town celebrates in many ways, the key event being a 3 day fiera or fair/market with stalls selling food, clothes, toys, gadgets (… probably a lot of landfill), rides etc.
For a long time, the Fiera di San Giuseppe was THE occasion when the offerings of faraway regions and big cities, came to La Spezia. “Modern”, fashionable, new age items came to the La Spezia backwaters. Ditto, traditional fare of other regions. My hubby Massi, remembers the long (sufferingly sad) wait from one San Giuseppe to the next for example, to enjoy un panino con la porchetta, an herby, roast pork, stuffed bread roll typical of Tuscany … despite the Tuscan boarder being only about 30km down the road.
This San Giuseppe, we found ourselves working all weekend in our family food truck. Not at the main event, but in the grounds of the National Transport Museum (super interesting textures, machinery, and colours for me). Long story short, we’d not much of a chance, nor the energy, to whip up a Father’s Day feast, so instead, we opted for a classic spaghettata to mark Fathers Day/San Giuseppe.
Spaghettata, also known as “spaghettata di mezzanotte” comprises of “spaghetti, aglio, olio and pepperoncino” that is, pasta with an ingenuously simple sauce of sauted garlic, olive oil, and chilli. It is the classic, pull-together meal for impromptu get-togethers, when all hands shoot up at the mention of spaghetti, while the cupboard and fridge may well be bare. Spaghettata is typically eaten at midnight (mezzanotte), after a big night out, and on summer evenings when a second wave of hunger strikes long after dinner time. It is hugely popular, as a post-soccer match feast, and it is equally worshiped by thrifty, hungry, late-night partying students.
As a family of three, we didn’t fit the bill of a crowd of midnight, ravenous revellers, but we were fatigued and famished. The Spaghettata truly hit the spot.
Spaghetti with garlic, oil, and chilli ~ Spaghettata di mezzanotte
- 500g spaghetti
- 6 tablespoons (120ml) olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (*or to taste depending on the heat factor of your chilli)
- Salt and pepper
Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente or according to the packet instructions.
Towards the end of the pasta cooking time, heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan or deep frypan over low heat. Gently sauté the garlic for about 1 minute, until it is fragrant, but not browned. Stir in the chilli flakes.
Remove one cup of water from the boiling pasta pot, then drain the spaghetti well. Add the pasta to the garlic and chilli in the pan. Mix well. If it is looking a little dry, add some of the reserved pasta cooking water. Discard any leftover water.
Season the spaghetti with salt and pepper. Serve instantly.
