SPAGHETTI WITH FRIED EGGS, Sounds Gross, Right?

A few weeks ago, Hubby and I were watching the Today Show, when a new recipe caught Hubby's eye.  Today contributor, Mark Bittman, was showcasing his three favorite simple recipes.  Hubby was fixated on the Spaghetti with Fried Eggs.  I love fried eggs, but fried eggs and spaghetti sounded a little revolting to me.  When the show came back from commercial, Matt, Ann and Natalie were sitting on the couch with this big bowl of pasta and raving about how good it was.  That was all Hubby needed to hear.  Later than night, Hubby watched the clip again (YAY for my DVR) and  followed along in our kitchen.  I must admit that I was apprehensive, but considering I didn't have to cook that night, I figured it was worth a try.  I was very pleasantly surprised. 

Here's the clip of Mark Bittman

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And here's the recipe:

 

Spaghetti with Fried Eggs


Ingredients:

Salt

1/2 pound thin spaghetti

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or lard  (Lard?  EWW!  We used olive oil)

2 large cloves garlic, lightly smashed and peeled

4 eggs

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, optional (is cheese ever really optional?)

Preparation:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Start the sauce in the next step, and start cooking the pasta when the water boils.



2. Combine garlic and 4 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the garlic, pressing it into the oil occasionally to release its flavor; it should barely color on both sides. Remove the garlic, and add the remaining oil.



3. Fry the eggs gently in the oil, until the whites are just about set and the yolks still quite runny. Drain the pasta, and toss with the eggs and oil, breaking up the whites as you do. (The eggs will finish cooking in the heat of the pasta.) Season to taste, and serve immediately, with cheese if you like.



Serving Size

Time: 20 minutes. Yield: 2 or 3 servings.

This is a picture of how ours turned out the other night.  We added shrimp this time, which was very good.

As usual, please pretend that this is a really good picture.  I envy those of you with good cameras and lighting.  It actually tastes a lot better than it looks.  Really, it does.  Cross my heart. 

** I forgot to mention that we used whole wheat pasta.  I'm pretending that using whole wheat pasta will take away from the fact that I probably used more cheese than the chef intended.  After all, like the finger sucking guy on the Super Bowl Dorito commercial says, "MMMMM Cheese!"

Have a great Friday!