breakfast pasta?

This idea came from an episode of Mark Bittman's PBS show "How to Cook Everything", where he visited with Gabrielle Hamilton of the awesome NYC restaurant Prune. Gabrielle demonstrated her handkerchief pasta with poached egg, brown butter, ham, and bitter greens. Mark's simple version was spaghetti with a fried egg and ham. I did a bit of both. This is spaghetti with ham, arugula, and a fried egg.

The key to this dish is to slightly undercook the egg, the yolk must be quite runny. Then you simply take a fork and knife and chop everything up into a glorious mess. The yolk runs over the pasta making a delicious sauce, the ham that is hiding underneath the pasta gets tossed up like a surprise. The arugula, which I don't even cook, has just the right amount of peppery edge. This is a 10-minute meal, and it is simplicity at its best. I think this will become a staple. Recipe after the jump:

SPAGHETTI WITH HAM AND EGG
Serves 2
1/2 lb Spaghetti
2 slices French bistro-style ham, diced
2 eggs
4 ounces baby arugula
4 tablespoons butter
grated parmesan cheese, to taste
salt and pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, then toss in a bowl with the raw arugula and half of the butter. The heat from the pasta will wilt the arugula. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a frying pan, saute the ham until browned, then divide among the serving bowls. Top with the spaghetti. Fry the eggs in half of the butter, sunnyside up, leaving the yolk undercooked, then slide the eggs onto the servings of pasta. Top with grated parmesan and serve.