I absolutely love this pasta. I eat it once a week for breakfast. I’m not going to lie, one week I even ate it three days in a row!
What makes it so good? It’s incredibly simple to make. It fills me up and keeps me going for hours. But more than that, it’s garlicky, spicy, a bit salty, and absolutely luscious.
Because I make this so often just for myself, you’ll find the recipe with two variations: one generous serving and family style (6 servings).
If this dish seems too spicy for breakfast, try it for dinner. It pairs well with a strong red wine.
For One:
Short pasta like penne, pennette, elbows, rotini, ditalini or cavatappi
2 cloves of garlic, minced or sliced (your preference)
Pinch to ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, or more or less to taste
2 – 3 TBS olive oil
2 eggs
Salt & pepper to taste
Coarse ground sea salt (optional)
When I make pasta just for myself, I use three handfuls of dried pasta. Depending on the shape, that comes out to about 2/3 to 3/4 cup. Use more or less pasta depending on how hungry you are.
Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions (don’t forget to add a generous pinch of salt to the water before adding the pasta—it’s an opportunity to flavor the pasta).
Five minutes after starting the pasta, add 2 TBS of oil, the garlic, and red pepper flakes to a small nonstick skillet. Heat the skillet on low to medium-low and cook the garlic for 5 minutes or until it is soft and lightly golden but not brown.
When the pasta is finished cooking, drain well. Return the pasta to the pot. Carefully pour the garlic and pepper oil over the pasta and coat the pasta well. If any oil spills down the side of the pan, wipe it off with a paper towel and discard the towel.
Return the skillet to the burner and raise the heat to medium-low. There should be residual oil in the pan to cook the eggs but if there isn’t, add a bit more. Crack the eggs into the oil. Cook for one minute or until the white has just set. Carefully flip the eggs and cook for 30 seconds to one minute more (the yolk should be runny). Sprinkle the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Slide the eggs onto the pasta. Using a spoon or spatula, break the yolks and a bit of the white and stir into the pasta. Taste for salt and pepper and add if necessary.
Serve the pasta immediately. I like to add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch or two of coarse ground sea salt as garnish.
Family Style:
One 10.5 - 12 oz. box of short pasta like penne, pennette, elbows, rotini, ditalini or cavatappi
6 cloves of garlic, minced or sliced (your preference)
½ - 1 tsp red pepper flakes, or more or less to taste
¼ - 1/3 cup olive oil
6 – 8 eggs, depending on size
Salt & pepper to taste
Coarse ground sea salt (optional)
Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions (don’t forget to add a generous pinch of salt to the water before adding the pasta—it’s an opportunity to flavor the pasta).
Five minutes after starting the pasta, add ¼ cup of oil, the garlic, and red pepper flakes to a small nonstick skillet. Heat the skillet on low to medium-low and cook the garlic for 5 minutes or until it is soft and lightly golden but not brown.
When the pasta is finished cooking, drain well. Return the pasta to the pot. Carefully pour the garlic and pepper oil over the pasta and coat the pasta well. If any oil spills down the side of the pan, wipe it off with a paper towel and discard the towel.
Return the skillet to the burner and raise the heat to medium-low. There should be residual oil in the pan to cook the eggs but if there isn’t, add a bit more. Crack the eggs into the oil. Cook for one minute or until the white has just set. Carefully flip the eggs and cook for 30 seconds to one minute more (the yolk should be runny). Sprinkle the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Slide the eggs onto the pasta. Using a spoon or spatula, break the yolks and a bit of the white and stir into the pasta. Taste for salt and pepper and add if necessary.
Serve the pasta immediately. I like to add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch or two of coarse ground sea salt as garnish.
Don’t Freak Out!
1) Al dente means “to the tooth”. In other words, don’t overcook your pasta into a mushy mess! The pasta needs to hold its shape so it can do its job and hold the sauce. Speaking of pasta, spend a little more and treat yourself to a better brand of pasta. You and this dish deserve it! However, I don’t recommend using egg noodles for this dish—it’s overkill.
2) When making pasta, usually you want to reserve some of the pasta’s cooking water to thin out the sauce. With this pasta, it’s unnecessary. In fact, drain the pasta really well because any excess water will not mix with the olive oil and yolk sauce—it doesn’t coat the pasta nicely and ends up tasting watery and flat. Trust me. It was one of my most disappointing meals ever.
3) Make it gluten-free. While some gluten-free pasta turns mushy after cooking, I’ve had great results making this dish with elbow macaroni made from corn and rice. While the pasta was cooking, it did smell a bit corny but the finished product didn’t actually taste corny. It was delicious and perfectly al dente.
4) You may be tempted to skip a step and cook the eggs in the oil along with the garlic and red pepper flakes. Don’t. The garlic and red pepper will stick to the eggs; the eggs will be in too much oil for too long; and the yolk will become hard. Trust me. It was another one of my most disappointing meals ever.
5) When cooking the garlic, if it starts turning brown, turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the burner. About 15 seconds before pouring it over the cooked pasta, return the skillet to the burner and heat on low. If the garlic turns dark brown and hard, it will become bitter. Discard and start again.
I’ve always used fresh garlic for this but you can use jarred minced garlic (you may need to reduce the cooking time--just watch the garlic to prevent it from burning). The jar should have a conversion rate on it but usually, depending on taste, ½ to 1 teaspoon of minced garlic equals one clove of fresh garlic.