fried egg pasta with garlicky crunchies

i need you to trust me on this one.

Oh man, I’m so excited for y’all to make this week’s recipe. If your September is going anything like my September, dinnertime keeps sneaking up on you after a whirlwind day and you are really in need of an easy dinner winner right now.

I bet you already have everything you need in the pantry/fridge to make this truly delightful fried egg pasta inspired by a Southern Italian egg pasta. It’s kind of like cacio e pepe (a creamy, peppery pasta) meets carbonara (a creamy pasta with an egg-based sauce) meets aglio e olio (a simple olive oil plus garlic pasta). It’s the best of all of these worlds and we are doing it What To Cook style — in as few steps as possible.

You can absolutely skip the garlicky crunchies, but if you have the time to make them… don’t skip them. They’re worth the small amount of extra effort.

Now that we all have chili crisp in the fridge thanks to the chili crisp salmon, I would be remiss not to mention that adding a scoop of chili crisp to the skillet when you’re tossing the spaghetti into the eggs is a VERY GOOD IDEA. It’s like adding red pepper flakes to your pasta but… way better. You could also make the recipe as is on the first night, then warm the leftovers in a skillet with a splash of soy sauce and a scoop of chili crisp for another meal. I’m salivating.

Oh! Another idea! Make chili crisp crunchies instead of garlicky crunchies. Add a big scoop of chili crisp to the skillet along with 1 cup panko and a pinch of salt. Stir until golden brown. YUM.

Fall officially begins tomorrow! For those of you who have already entered Sweater Season, here are a few more cozy meals you should cook this week. Also relevant: Here’s my favorite expensive sweater right now (try code APPLE), and here’s my favorite looks-expensive sweater right now (code INFP-CARO10).

• cheesy polenta bowls with kielbasa and peppers

• one-pot cheesy sausage and butternut squash orzotto

• good soup (aka the original home of Parm Snow™)

• one-pot cheesy pumpkin pasta (for if you wanna go all in on fall)

• one-pot chicken tikka masala stew

• turkey cheddar meatloaf

From the book!

• summer soup (p. 168)

• tomato farrotto (p. 171)

• enchilada rice skillet (p. 180)

• kinda marbella (p. 200)

• ratatouille lasagna (p. 242)

For those of you who live in Texas/other places that are still absurdly hot right now and need cold food:

• spicy (or not) salmon tempura crunch bowls (hot tip: serve the salmon with an Asian bagged salad kit)

• herby shrimp couscous bowls

• charred cabbage and chicken peanut chop (you can skip charring the cabbage)

• black pepper pork chops (with a craveable noodle salad)

From the book:

• dilly chop (p. 77)

• thai veggie chop (p. 115)

• lemon parm crispy white bean & artichoke salad (p. 116)

• turkey taco salad (p. 119)

• sriracha shrimp sushi bowls (p. 156)

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Serves 4

Cook time: 30 minutes

Tools:

• Your biggest skillet (if you don’t have a large skillet — like one big enough to fit a pound of cooked noodles — you can use a large pot, such as a Dutch oven)

• A cover for that big skillet (it can be the lid that came with it, a mismatched lid, or even a sheet pan)

• Small bowl

• Large pot

• Mug to scoop out pasta water with

• Colander

• Chef’s knife

• Cutting board

• Tongs

• Low bowls (code CARO)

Ingredients: