Garlic Butter Pasta Recipe

Ingredients
 Kosher salt, to taste
 8 ounces spaghetti, or bucatini
 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
 1 cup chard, or spinach, roughly chopped, optional
 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
 Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Steps to Make It
1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Set a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Salt the water with
roughly one tablespoon of salt per gallon of water. It's okay to estimate. Add the
pasta and cook until al dente, about eight to ten minutes.

3. Pour the cooked pasta into a colander to drain and return the pot to the stove over
medium heat. Add the butter and the chopped garlic and stir. Avoid browning the
garlic. After a minute or two, when the garlic begins to sizzle and soften. Add
the chard or spinach (if using) and stir for one minute. Add the cooked pasta
back to the pot, along with the grated parmesan, salt and pepper to taste, and toss
everything to combine. Serve immediately.

Tips

 Try not to overcook the pasta. Check on it as it's cooking, and drain it just before
you think it's perfect. When you taste a noodle and you think to yourself "maybe
one more minute," that's the time to pull it off the stove. The noodles will continue
to soften as they steam in the colander and then mix with the hot butter in the pot.
By the time they're on the plate they will be perfectly al dente.
 The goals of cooking the garlic butter are to soften the flavor of raw garlic, and to
infuse the butter with the garlic's flavor. This doesn't take long, because the tiny
pieces of garlic cook quickly. If the garlic cooks too much it may start to turn
brown. Browned garlic has an unpleasant bitterness that is best avoided in this
dish, so when the garlic butter starts to sizzle, take it off the heat.

Recipe Variations

 Add green vegetables such as spinach, chard, or broccoli. Leafy greens can be
chopped and tossed in as directed in the recipe. But for broccoli, give it a quick
steam before tossing with the finished pasta.
 Herbs such as rosemary, oregano, basil or sorrel also enhance this basic pasta
without taking over.
 Toss buttered pasta with a can of tuna or drained and rinsed chickpeas or white
beans for a hearty, protein heavy main.