Food & Drink: Weekend Cook - 1: Midnight Pasta Serves two. Total time 20 minutes

OF ALL the millions of shapes and sizes of pasta nothing beats a steaming mound of spaghetti.

This recipe gets wheeled out in our household on those evenings when no-one's bothered to shop, or when we've arrived back from a weekend away starving hungry. It always fits the bill.

Always keep a packet of spaghetti to hand, and a large chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano.

225 g/8 oz spaghetti.

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped.

2 tsp finely chopped red chilli (medium hot).

3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Sea salt, black pepper.

Freshly grated Parmesan.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti; stir to separate the strands, and cook until just tender. Drain it into a sieve but not too thoroughly, and return it to the pan. Have your olive oil, garlic and chilli at the ready in a small saucepan. Start heating it at the same time as draining the pasta, and toss with the drained spaghetti the minute the garlic starts to fry. Toss in the parsley and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Serve with lots of grated Parmesan.