The chiles are chopped very small, but they’re there, even if they seem to be hiding from the camera.

Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino:  There’s almost nothing simpler, but if the ingredients are the very best, the dish will be also.   Even keeping within the Italian tradition, I could have added chopped parsley, for both the color and a note of garden freshness, but I really wanted to see if the basic recipe would work well without the ’embellishment’.   The answer is both yes and no:  The flavor was full, and very elegant, but I think I’ll still want to add parsley next time, for ‘the color and the note of garden freshness’.

After the pasta we enjoyed a plate of three cheeses along with a Bosc pear, continuing the evening’s white theme.

• Spaghetto, from Pastificio Afeltra, made from 100% Italian-grown durum wheat semolina, boiled in a large pot of salted water until al dente, then tossed with olive oil in which minced garlic, peperoncino and a bit of minced fresh Thai red and yellow pepper had already been heated.
• the wine was an Italian white, Villa Antinori Toscana 2012