Penne alla Papalina

This weekend I had the awesome opportunity to do this.

Me, Mario and my friend Kelly.

“To Laura, Pasta is love. Mario Batali”

Pasta is love. He knows me so well already.

Kelly and I were standing in the very long line to meet Mario and I started flipping through my new copy of his newest book. I turned to the back cover and saw this delicious looking pasta dish. “What is that? Monday night’s dinner. That’s what it is” I said to Kelly. And indeed it was. This was a great weeknight dinner. Quick to come together and oh so yummy.

Pasta alla Papalina
printable recipe

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces prosciutto, cut into 1-inch squares
10 ounces (2 cups) frozen green peas, thawed
1 pound penne rigate
4 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for serving
Coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:
Boil 6 quarts of water in a large pot. Add 3 Tablespoons of kosher salt.  Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain.

While the pasta cooks, cook the prosciutto in a large pan with 3 Tablespoons of olive oil, stirring occasionally, until the prosciutto is golden brown and has rendered some of it’s fat, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peas.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs well, then beat in the remaining 3 Tablespoons of oil and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water.

Stir the pasta and the prosciutto and pea mixture together. Pour the egg mixture into the pasta and mix together well to cook the eggs with the heat from the cooked pasta. Gradually add a bit more of the pasta water if needed.

Stir in the Parmigiano, season with pepper to taste, and serve.

Source: Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking by Mario Batali and Mark Ladner