Pasta Cacio e Uova (Pasta with Cheese and Eggs)
Our pasta cacio e uova, or pasta with cheese and eggs, comes together quickly. We gently heated crushed garlic cloves in lard while the water for the pasta came to a boil. And while the fat became infused with the garlic's flavor, we stirred together Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley. We drained the pasta and tossed it with the oil, which provided a subtly sweet, nutty toasted garlic flavor, as well as 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking water and the egg-and-cheese mixture. The hot pasta cooked the eggs and melted the cheese, turning the mixture into a silky sauce.
Tubetti is traditionally used for this dish, but you can substitute 8 ounces (2 cups) of elbow macaroni. Lard contributes an incomparably rich, savory flavor to the sauce. Look for it in the meat section, in the oil or baking supply aisle near the shortening, or in the refrigerated section near the butter. Our favorites are U.S. Dreams Lard and John Morrell Snow Cap Lard. Because this dish is very rich, we recommend serving it in small portions with a light salad.
3 tablespoons lard or extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
2 large eggs
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)
1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (½ cup)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
¼ teaspoon pepper
8 ounces (1½ cups) tubetti
1.) Melt lard in 8-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook, swirling skillet and flipping garlic occasionally, until garlic is pale golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. (Tiny bubbles will surround garlic, but garlic should not actively fry. Reduce heat if necessary.) Turn off heat, but leave skillet on burner. Discard garlic.
2.) While garlic cooks, bring 2 quarts water to boil in large saucepan. Beat eggs in medium bowl until very few streaks of white remain. Stir in Parmesan, Pecorino, parsley, salt, and pepper and set aside.
3.) Stir pasta and 1½ teaspoons salt into boiling water and cook, stirring often, until pasta is tender (slightly past al dente). Reserve ¼ cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to saucepan. Immediately add lard, egg mixture, and 1 tablespoon reserved cooking water to pasta and stir until cheese is fully melted. Adjust consistency with remaining reserved cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Serve immediately.
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