The “Creamy” Pasta I Make When There’s No Groceries in the House
Despite generally being pretty on top of my family’s grocery cycle and planning trips to the supermarket accordingly, every once in a while I find myself staring at a mostly bare pantry. What to do? I have a few go-to moves — red lentil soup, scrambled eggs, tuna mayo bowls, and spam fried rice.
One of my favorites, though, is an upgraded version of my childhood favorite: pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese. I picked the recipe up from someone I used to work with at America’s Test Kitchen, who ate it often as a kid (I guess she had a more sophisticated palate than little me). It’s creamy, delicious, and feels just a bit fancy, considering I always make it when I seemingly have no groceries. The secret to this super-simple pasta sauce is something I almost always have on hand: eggs.
My typical bare-pantry pasta method of simply mixing cooked pasta with butter, Parmesan, and pasta water to make a cheesy sauce has been elevated with the knowledge that by adding a couple of egg yolks, a pinch of mustard powder, and some garlic powder, the whole dish soars to new heights.
How to Make Creamy Egg Pasta
Boil pasta. Any pasta will do here (this is an empty-pantry dish, after all; it’s flexible). For two people I usually use about 12 ounces of pasta, but this sauce can scale up or down depending on your needs.
Start the sauce. While the pasta is boiling, add 1 large egg yolk per person to a large bowl. Add about 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder to the bowl, and whisk until combined. Next, add some of the pasta water (start with about 1/4 cup) to the bowl and whisk until a smooth sauce forms. If you need additional pasta water to get to a good saucy consistency, add it 1 tablespoon at a time.
Taste and adjust. At this point you can taste the sauce and make any adjustments you’d like. This sauce is meant to be flexible and customizable, so if you want less mustard flavor, for example, start with 1/4 teaspoon, use more or less garlic powder, etc. You can also add any additional ingredients here, like red pepper flakes, a little hot sauce, or, my personal favorite, some dried tarragon which adds an herby, slightly anise-y flavor to the whole dish.
Add pasta. Drain the cooked pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and toss in the warm sauce. Season to taste with kosher salt and serve up the best bare-pantry pasta you’ve had in years.
Tips for Making Creamy Egg Pasta
Make it your own. I love this pasta the very simple way it was taught to me, but I also love it with additions. Because I most often make this when I haven’t got much around, I’ll throw in whatever leftover bits and bobs are hanging around. I’ve added everything from leftover roasted vegetables to jarred capers to tinned fish. Feel free to get creative!
Start with less. Remember, you can always add, but you can never take away. Err on the side of less when adding spices and pasta water to the sauce, knowing you can build on it if you want an extra punch of flavor or need to adjust the consistency.
Further Reading
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