20-minute Pasta

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lb spaghetti
• 4 -8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 slices ham, cut into ribbons
• 4 eggs
• freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, to taste

Recipe

• 1 set a large pot of water to boil & salt it. turn the oven on to its lowest setting; warm 4 pasta bowls in it. when the water is boiling, add the pasta. meanwhile, put 1 tablespoon of the butter and the ham into a medium-size sauté pan over medium-high heat. cook, shaking pan occasionally, until the ham colors, about 2 minutes, then divide ham among the pasta bowls.
• 2 add remaining butter to the pan and, when the foam subsides, crack the eggs into the pan. cook them sunny side up, until the whites are nearly firm & the yolks very runny. the butter will begin to color while the eggs are cooking; if it threatens to burn, lower the heat to medium.
• 3 when the pasta is tender but not mushy, drain it, reserving a bit of the cooking water. put the pasta in bowls. use a spatula to transfer a fried egg to each bowl of pasta & pour all the butter from the pan around the eggs onto the pasta. slice the eggs on the pasta & toss them with the pasta, adding cheese, and if necessary, a little of the pasta cooking liquid, to make a sauce. add salt if necessary, & lots of black pepper & serve.