By Thanksgiving week. The factory had Wednesday-and-Thursday off as the holiday-week shutdown days. Mama had Thursday off at the Dollar General. Dustin had Wednesday-Thursday-Friday off from the HVAC shop. Cody had a four-day weekend from the food bank.
Mama hosted Thanksgiving at the rental house Thursday afternoon. Six people at the table: Mama, me, Dustin, Cody, Aunt Linda, Roy Calloway. The first family-side Thanksgiving with Cody at the table since 2017. Mama had been planning it for weeks. The turkey came in at a fourteen-pounder. The dressing was Mama’s standard cornbread-and-onion. The pies were Aunt Linda’s pumpkin and Mrs. Henderson’s pecan (Mrs. Henderson had dropped hers off Wednesday afternoon).
Friday I made linguine with fried eggs and garlic because Thursday had been the kind of holiday that uses up everything in the cook and Friday needed a dinner that took fifteen minutes and asked nothing of me. The dish is the Italian peasant pasta where pasta is tossed with runny fried eggs and garlic-infused olive oil. Total time: fifteen minutes. Total cost: under two dollars per serving. Dustin and I ate at the apartment table at six-thirty Friday night without saying much. The dish was the dish.
Mama’s Wednesday call was the small mid-week anchor. She talked through the cafe’s small breakfast-and-lunch numbers, the small Cody-news, the small Aunt-Linda update. The cafe is in its small steady-state rhythm. Cody is at the small operational-lead for the lunch-and-dinner rotation. Mama is on the small breakfast-and-brunch shifts. The small Sapulpa-cafe-life continues the way it has been continuing for years.
The technique-detail I always lean on: the rest at room temperature for at least twenty minutes before the small final cooking step. The rest gives the small protein-or-dough time to relax into its small final-form. Skip the rest and the texture goes wrong. Honor the rest and the texture honors you back.
Linguine with Fried Eggs and Garlic
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 oz linguine
- 4 large eggs
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguine according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
- Toast the garlic. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2–3 minutes until garlic is golden and fragrant. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the oil in the pan.
- Fry the eggs. Crack eggs into the same skillet over medium heat. Cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 3–4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
- Toss the pasta. Add drained linguine to the skillet with the garlic oil. Toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water a splash at a time to loosen the sauce as needed.
- Assemble and serve. Divide pasta among bowls. Top each portion with a fried egg and the toasted garlic chips. Sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 19g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 66g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 310mg