20-Minute Pasta

I must have found this recipe in a magazine somewhere. I wrote it down on a sheet of paper, and just now getting around to making it. Let me just say that this is a super yummy pasta. My boys loved it and for not having alot of ingredients it's very filling.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1  lb spaghetti
• 4 -8  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8  slices ham, Cut Into Ribbons
• 4  eggs
•  freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, To Taste

Directions

1. Set a large pot of water to boil & salt it. Turn the oven on to its lowest setting; warm 4 pasta bowls in it. When the water is boiling, add the pasta. Meanwhile, put 1 tablespoon of the butter and the ham into a medium-size sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until the ham colors, about 2 minutes, then divide ham among the pasta bowls.
2. Add remaining butter to the pan and, when the foam subsides, crack the eggs into the pan. Cook them sunny side up, until the whites are nearly firm & the yolks very runny. The butter will begin to color while the eggs are cooking; if it threatens to burn, lower the heat to medium.
3. When the pasta is tender but not mushy, drain it, reserving a bit of the cooking water. Put the pasta in bowls. Use a spatula to transfer a fried egg to each bowl of pasta & pour all the butter from the pan around the eggs onto the pasta. Slice the eggs on the pasta & toss them with the pasta, adding cheese, and if necessary, a little of the pasta cooking liquid, to make a sauce. Add salt if necessary, & lots of black pepper & serve.