Pasta With Eggs, Cheese, Garlic and Butter

Pasta With Eggs, Cheese, Garlic and Butter

We all know the food police are out there. You've heard the stories. They are always telling us what we are allowed to eat and what we aren’t allowed to have. Now they are even passing laws limiting how much soda we are allowed to purchase. One thing is certain, the food police will even be more intrusive as time goes on.

I’m sorry to say that this is a recipe that will get you in trouble with the food police. Big time. 

Not only is it made with cheese, butter and eggs, it is even worse because it is made with uncooked eggs. That will put them in a tizzy for sure. You see, there is a remote chance of salmonella poising from raw eggs.

They claim that one or two percent of supermarket eggs are contaminated with salmonella, but I find that hard to believe. For the last forty years I’ve eaten eggs over easy (that means undercooked, with a raw yolk) two or three times a week. That comes out to four or six eggs a week, fifty two weeks a year, or almost 9000 undercooked eggs in my lifetime. If their estimate of contamination is correct, I’ve should have come down with salmonella about once a year.

Still, there is a chance of getting food poisoning from eating uncooked or under cooked eggs. If you don’t want to take a chance, you can still make this dish using the new, pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs that I’ve seen in groceries. They look like uncooked eggs, but they have been processed to kill any bacteria. I’ve tried them and they don’t taste any different than regular eggs. But, alas, the food police will still complain about the butter and cheese in this recipe. No pleasing that bunch.

1 stick of butter

olive oil

8 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

A dash of red pepper flakes

4 eggs beaten

1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

Salt and fresh ground white pepper

Homemade pasta or 1 pound of frozen egg pasta, 

Preparation

Make sure you use real Parmigiano Reggiano.
It makes a difference.

Heat a large skillet and melt the butter along with a little bit of olive oil. Don’t let the butter brown. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir for a minute until the garlic is sizzling, but don’t let it brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook the pasta, drain it and put in a large serving bowl. Immediately toss the pasta with the garlic butter mixture and then stir in the beaten eggs. Stir the hot pasta and eggs for a minute to mix well. Now stir in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Finally, sprinkle on some fresh ground white pepper and a little salt. Toss and serve immediately. 

Serving

Serve a large pile of this pasta next to chicken breasts broiled in white wine. Now add a bunch of sautéed baby broccoli. You might also want a bowl of pasta and bean soup. Don't forget fresh baked bread and butter. Now, I'd open a bottle of Sangiovese wine from Italy to wash everything down.