Spaghetti with Asparagus and Egg

If a vote were being held today, right now, on what one thing I would want to be eating for the next 10 years, my vote is solidly here with this one, folks.  I was pretty sure this was going to be good, but after a couple of bites, I could hear the distant ringing of little alarm bells.  I’m very familiar with those bells, otherwise known as my internal warning system, alerting me to the fact that I was already wanting to eat more than I probably should.  I was in trouble.  I mean, I was on the brink, people; standing on the edge of some serious gluttony; my toes were dangling and I was ready to jump headfirst into a warm bowl of egg- infused pasta.

I will tell you that yes, I did eat a little more than I probably should have, but oh, it could have been so much worse.  I did it for you.  I was able to set down my fork and step away and save enough for a photo so I could share this with you.

As you can see, I did get my photo.  But now there’s a plastic container in the refrigerator with the rest of that pasta, and it’s burning a hole in the door.  Yup.  It’s that good.

Spaghetti with Asparagus and Egg

Click here for a printable recipe

Serves 4

12 oz. spaghetti

1 lb of asparagus

1 egg per person

Grated parmesan cheese

2 ounces of goat cheese

Salt and pepper

Trim the woody ends off of the asparagus and discard.  Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal.  Separate the asparagus tips from the rest of the pieces.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a generous amount of kosher salt and cook your pasta for 7 minutes (no longer!).

While the pasta cooks, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and add the asparagus pieces (not the tips).  Sauté the asparagus for a minute or so and then add a couple tablespoons of water, cover and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add in the asparagus tips, some salt and pepper, cover, and cook another minute or so.

Reserve a cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.  Add the pasta into the pan with the asparagus along with the goat cheese and a couple tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese.  Stir to mix well, adding additional pasta water as needed to create a nice sauce.  Taste for salt and pepper.  Cover and let the pasta sit and absorb the sauce while you make your eggs. 

Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  When the pan is hot, crack your eggs into the pan, cover and let them cook for about 4 minutes.  Slide an egg on top of each portion of pasta along with a good grinding of pepper and kosher salt.

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