This weeknight wonder takes just three ingredients to make: Parmesan, olive oil, and pasta. While it might seem impossible to make a restaurant-quality sauce with nothing more than olive oil and cheese, this technique proves otherwise. Combining grated Parmesan, cold water, and a glug of oil in a blender creates a velvety sauce that perfectly clings to pasta. When adding the blended Parmesan mixture to the pasta, the cheese might clump up, but don’t fret: With a little bit of stirring and some pasta cooking liquid, it will melt in uniformly. This pasta is reminiscent of grown-up mac and cheese: creamy, savory, and irrefutably comforting.
Although you can serve this as-is straight from the pot, the recipe is ripe for add-ons: A grating of raw garlic could add a sharp bite, a showering of lemon zest would brighten it up, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes would add some heat, and a scattering of toasted breadcrumbs would provide welcomed crunch.