Asian Noodles with Sesame Garlic Oil

If you love garlic, you will love this recipe, however just because it has one head of garlic, it is not overpowering. One of my wife’s favorite dishes, this pasta salad is sure to be a hit at your next get together. Smooth, minty, with a great taste of sesame garlic oil, it’s hard to go wrong. Plus it literally only takes about 20 minutes to get it to your table.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of angel hair pasta, cooked al dente
• 1 large head of garlic
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp dark sesame oil
• 1 bunch of mint, rough chopped
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp chili flakes

Begin cooking your pasta. Heat the olive oil to medium heat. Peal and chop the head of garlic, yes, all of it. Once the oil is heated, add the garlic and cook just before it turn light brown.

Overcooking the garlic will kill the dish as the garlic will become extremely bitter. Transfer the garlic and oil to a bowl, add the sesame oil to the garlic oil, and let cool.

In the meantime, finely chop the bell pepper, mint, and shallots. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cool water to prevent it from overcooking. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl and add the cooled, infused garlic oil. Toss the noodles.

Add the fish sauce, white pepper, and chili flakes. Mix well. Now add the bell peppers, mint, and shallots, and toss well.

Serve. The flavors of this dish are amazing.