Garlic and Herb Pasta - super quick & simple

Quick, simple, super easy weeknight dinner - Garlic and Herb Pasta. In my humble opinion garlic, herbs & parmesan were just meant to be together. I think I have mentioned to you before, when they ask at a restaurant "would you like garlic OR herb OR cheese bread?" what I want to say is "can I have it all together in one please?"

So I give you Garlic and Herb Pasta - AND it's done in 15 minutes!

I have used Angel Hair pasta (or as my husband Peter calls it "you know - the fairy pasta" - angels/fairies - close enough - I knew what he meant!) which is my go-to pasta for a quick meal because it cooks in 2 mins - for this recipe the thing that takes the longest is boiling the water!

The first time I made this I actually used left over pasta from the previous night's dinner, so it was even quicker!

Enjoy!

Lee-Ann ♥

📖 Recipe

Garlic and Herb Pasta

0.5x1x2x3x

Garlic and Herb Pasta - super quick & simple pasta with a herb & garlic butter sauce

Print Pin Rate

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Total Time: 15 minutes

Serving: 4

Calories: 402kcal

Author: Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

• 250 g dried angel hair pasta (see notes)
• 80 g salted butter
• 4 garlic cloves crushed
• ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves firmly packed - some reserved for serving
• ¼ cup fresh oregano leaves loosely packed - some reserved for serving
• ⅓ cup fresh parsley leaves firmly packed - some reserved for serving
• 8 fresh sages leaves finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon pine nuts
• grated fresh parmesan to serve I use about 2 tablespoon for each serve - if not more!

Instructions

• Boil a kettle full of water, when boiled add water to large saucepan that has been on the heat for about 3 - 5 seconds (no longer or you will end up with BOILING water everywhere) - this helps your water come back to the boil quickly
• While the kettle is boiling, heat a medium fry pan over medium heat & fry pine nuts for 1-2 mins or until golden then remove from pan and set aside
• When water in saucepan has come back to the boil, add pasta and cook according to packet directions, then drain
• Meanwhile, in original fry pan, turn heat down to medium low and add butter to melt. When butter is bubbling, add garlic and fry for 30 seconds, then add herbs, cooked pasta & pine nuts to pan and stir to coat everything in the butter
• Divide pasta between bowls, add remaining fresh herbs, top with parmesan and serve

Notes

As I mentioned in my post, the first time I made this recipe I used left over angel hair pasta from the night before. Instead of cooking the dried pasta in the boiling water, all I did was refresh/reheat the pasta with the boiling water before adding it to the butter during step 4. To refresh/reheat the pasta I simply put the pasta into a colander/sieve and poured over a good kettle full of boiling water - you could also pour the boiling water in a bowl, add the pasta and then drain like usual. Either way the pasta is only very thin, so doesn't need much heating & it is also going to be added to a hot butter sauce.

I also don't like to cook the garlic for very long, I really wanted a strong garlic flavour - not quite raw, but not super mellow either.

Feel free to tinker with the ratio of herbs too - depending on your taste. The only thing I would say is be wary of using a lot of sage (unless you LOVE it) as it's a very strong savoury flavour.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*