The pantry dinner when the shelf is bare: garlic, oil, and black pepper dressed over hot pasta, cooked in the time it takes the water to boil. It's what Italian cooks make when there's nothing else, and it's never bland.

Serves 2. 15 minutes, 10 at the stove.

About 590 calories a serving, 11 g protein, 65 g carbohydrate, 31 g fat. From USDA figures for 75% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

You need 1/4 cup [60 ml] vegetable oil, 6 oz [170 g] pasta, 4 cloves garlic, to taste salt, 1 teaspoon pepper.

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook 6 oz of pasta until it is tender when tasted, about ten minutes.10 min
2. While the pasta cooks, pour 1/4 cup oil into a cold skillet and slice 4 garlic cloves thin into it. Set the pan over medium heat and cook until the garlic is pale gold and fragrant, about three minutes, stirring often so it does not brown.3 min
3. Drain the pasta, holding back 1/4 cup pasta water. Tip the hot pasta into the skillet with the garlic oil and toss, pouring in enough pasta water to make it glossy, about two minutes. Crack pepper over the top to your taste, taste for salt, and serve at once.2 min

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Note A crumble of cheese or a drizzle of red pepper flakes lifts this any night. Leftovers hold for one day cold, tossed with a splash more oil. Serve with a green salad or some crusty bread to wipe the pan.