Nothing rivals pasta when you’re craving comfort food. Luckily, there are so many ways to have it, allowing pasta fans to branch out on any given night. But King of Hollywood Al Pacino has a favorite that he keeps coming back to when he eats out—and it’s the perfect mix of spiciness and savoriness to make it your new favorite, too.
The 84-year-old Oscar winning actor and star of iconic films like The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II and Scarface is the son of Italian immigrants, and he has a favorite pasta that he loves with his whole heart. He loves it so much that he’s known to ask for it, even if it’s not on the restaurant menu. The pasta isn’t fancy, and it’s easy enough to make at home using ingredients you probably have laying around.
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The One Dish Al Pacino Can’t Refuse
Al Pacino is a big fan of a pasta dish called spaghetti aglio e olio. It’s a Neapolitan dish that features spaghetti noodles, good olive oil, lots of garlic and red pepper flakes for a spicy kick. It goes without saying the pasta dish and the Scarface star have been linked together a lot in recent history.
In 2015, New York’s iconic Serafina restaurant posted on X that they “love” Pacino, noting how they have a dish called Spaghetti Aglio & Olio “Al Pacino.” That dish is still exists with that incredible name on the current Serafina menu.
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Al Pacino’s love of spaghetti aglio e olio also came up in Daniel Bellino Zwicke’s Positano the Malfi Coast Cookbook: Travel Guide. “When I was the wine director at Barbetta Ristorante in New York City, whenever Al came into the restaurant, he would often ask if we could make him a plate as it wasn’t on the menu,” Zwicke wrote. “Al literally made us an offer we couldn’t refuse, naturally we didn’t, and we always gave Mr. Pacino a plate of his beloved spaghetti aglio olio, just the way he liked it. You’re welcome Al.”
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What’s So Great About Al Pacino’s Spaghetti Aglio e Olio?
Spaghetti aglio e olio isn’t a fancy food by any means. In fact, it’s considered a “peasant food” in Italian culture thanks to the simplicity of its core ingredients. But that’s what makes aglio e olio so great. It’s a pasta dish that is accessible to everyone, and the basic ingredients allow every element of this pasta to shine.
How to Make Al Pacino’s Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
There exists countless recipes for aglio e olio on the internet and in cookbooks, but we’ve based our instructions based on what Key Food Services shared on their website.
To make this Al Pacino’s favorite dish, cook spaghetti according to package directions and then sauté garlic in a large frying pan. Add red pepper flakes and keep cooking until the garlic turns slightly brown. Drain the pasta, saving about a ¼ cup of pasta cooking water. Add the spaghetti back into the pot, drizzle in olive oil and pour the garlic mixture and reserved water over top. Add in chopped parsley and mix well. Divide pasta into serving bowls and sprinkle more chopped parsley over the top of each before serving.
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So the next time you’re not sure what to make for dinner, consider saying hello to Al Pacino’s favorite pasta. It’s got all the right ingredients for a spicy, flavor-packed meal.
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