Parmesan & Pepper Noodles

This is totally comfort food but also totally easy. I remember eating buttered noodles as a kid. I pretty much just made an adult version of that, adding lots of black pepper and parmesan. There is a fair amount of butter per serving, but nothing obscene. This is just as easy to make for one person as for four people.

I never know how much pasta to make and inevitably make way too much. I love pasta, but I get tired of eating it for days on end. If you have a kitchen scale (which you should get if you don’t have) the task of portioning pasta becomes much easier. For spaghetti noodles specifically, I have found 2.5oz is a good medium serving size. Bump that up to 3oz if you are hungry or down to 2oz for a lighter portion. I haven’t tackled the weight portion testing for other pastas, yet...

PARMESAN & PEPPER NOODLES

SERVES 1

2.5oz (weight) of spaghetti

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 egg

Salt to taste

1. Boil noodles per package directions.

2. While pasta boils, grate cheese and grind the pepper.

3. Before draining pasta, scoop out 1/4 cup of the pasta water, set aside.

4. Add drained pasta back into the pot, lower heat to med-low. Add butter, stir to coat.

5. Once butter is melted, sprinkle parmesan over the noodles, reserving 1 tbsp for topping. Pour in reserved cooking water. Stir until cheese melts and distributes. Add black pepper.

6. Use the microwave method to poach an egg. Plate pasta, top with egg, additional pepper, salt to taste and 1 tbsp parmesan.

Weigh out 2.5oz of spaghetti.

If you are like me and grate a little more than 1/2 cup parmesan, set that aside to use as additional topping or save in the fridge for another use.

Right before your drain the pasta, Scoop out 1/4 cup pasta water. The water helps break up and liquify the cheese. Without it you would end up with a bunch of curds that bunch together and don’t distribute.

Stir butter into the noodles until completely melted.

Sprinkle most of the parmesan over the noodles and pour the reserved cooking water in.

It might seem a little too wet, or the cheese might seem like it’s turning into curds but just keep stirring! It will smooth out. I was left with a little cheese build up on my spoon but that is just the nature of parmesan.

Plate the pasta and add a poached egg. You can microwave poach an egg in under two minutes with this method.