Pasta with Lardons, Eggs and Parmesan
Spaghetti tossed with crisp lardons, a tangy crème fraîche pan sauce and a soft egg yolk stirred through at the table. A fast, rich dinner built on the browned bits in the pan.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 4 · Cook 14
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Rendering fat · Emulsifying
- Savory
- Quick
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Fill the large pot with at least 2 l water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
~5 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within as it hydrates, rather than only on the surface.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the water boils, cut the lardons into 1 cm pieces if needed and grate the parmesan finely. Crack the eggs into a small bowl, add the crème fraîche and whisk with a fork until smooth.
~3 min
-
Add the pâtes to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Scoop out 100 ml of the cooking water, then drain the pâtes in the colander.
~10 min
Starchy cooking water contains dissolved starch that helps the egg and crème fraîche sauce emulsify and cling.
-
While step 3 cooks
While the pâtes cook, heat the olive oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the lardons and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until browned and crisp at the edges, then take the pan off the heat.
~5 min
Frying lardons over medium-high heat renders their fat and browns the meat, creating the flavour base for the sauce.
Rendering fat Cook lardons over medium-high heat until the fat melts out and the meat crisps; if they steam or stick, the pan is too crowded or too cool.
-
Return the frying pan to low heat, add the drained pâtes and toss for 1 minute so the pasta picks up the browned bits and fat in the pan.
~1 min
Tossing the pasta in the pan lets it absorb the rendered fat and browned bits, building flavour before the sauce.
-
Take the pan off the heat and wait 30 seconds so it is no longer sizzling. Pour in the eggs and crème fraîche mixture and toss hard with the tongs, adding the reserved 100 ml cooking water a splash at a time until the sauce is glossy and coats every strand. Stir in the parmesan, season with the black pepper and serve at once.
~2 min
Off the heat, the eggs thicken gently into a sauce; if the pan is hot they coagulate into scrambled lumps.
Off the heat is the whole trick: if the pan is still sizzling when the eggs go in, they scramble instead of turning into sauce. The reserved cooking water loosens the crème fraîche without thinning the flavour.
Emulsifying Whisk the egg mixture off the heat and add starchy water gradually so the fat and liquid combine into a glossy sauce; adding it all at once risks a broken, greasy texture.