Pasta with mizithra and garlic

Pasta and macaroni Italian cuisine

I had this pasta for the first time at a wonderful Greek restaurant in Seattle. The owner told us how to make it, and I follow his instructions to the letter. It's totally unlike any other pasta I've ever had--the strands are coated with golden shards of mizithra cheese and garlic, giving the pasta a deep nutty flavor and an almost prickly texture. The secret here is the mizithra, an aged Greek cheese that doesn't melt when heated, and will brown and caramelize if you cook it in a hot pan. The whole dish comes together in minutes, and it actually tastes better at room temperature than it does warm.