Perciatelli is a thick, hollow spaghetti also called bucatini. Dressed with parmigiano cheese and fresh ground black pepper and topped with sunny-side up eggs, this kind of dish makes a nice– and quick– lunch or late after-theater dinner and is known in Italy as spaghettata. If you want a greater yield, increase the ingredients proportionally, but cook all the eggs together in one large nonstick pan and slide them out over a platter full of pasta, with a sprinkling of parsley.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 2 servings
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

1/2 pound perciatelli (bucatini) or spaghetti

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 teaspoons freshly grated black pepper

Finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1. For every pound of pasta, bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil over high heat, salt abundantly with up to 1/2 cup of salt, then add the pasta in handfuls. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick together, until al dente. Drain without rinsing.

2. Meanwhile, a few minutes before the pasta is done, melt the butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the butter stops bubbling and turns a light brown, crack the eggs into the pan and cook until the tops set.

3. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl and toss with the cheese and pepper. Divide the pasta into two bowls and slide an egg on top of each. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired and serve.

Variation:

Note:

Posted: 12/19/2006

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Clifford Wright has done it again! Not only does Little Foods of the Mediterranean provide hundreds of mouth-watering recipes, it also offers a lively history of their origins. Wright shares with us the centuries-old philosophy of eating that underlies these marvelous little foods, seasoning his text with spicy etymologies along with copious doses of Aleppo pepper and harisa. - Darra Goldstein, Editor, Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture

I always felt it would take several lifetimes to research the many facets of Mediterranean cooking--history, languages, influences, the range of culinary resourcefulness and extravagance, and the varied tastes of fourteen countries. In his monumental work [Mediterranean Feast], Clifford Wright has made a huge contribution. An astonishing accomplishment. - Paula Wolfert, author of The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean