Would you like to make a delicious one-person meal in just a few minutes, one that will become a favorite? Try this one. I saw a version of it on YouTube and thought I’d try. I was sick of spaghetti in tomato sauce and definitely didn’t want that AGAIN. I thought I wouldn’t be able to make egg pasta, but it was easy, and turned out perfect. Let me tell you how I made this simple dish:

First, I made a nest using all purpose flour, about a cup, and into the nest, I broke a single egg. I used one large one. I broke the yolk with a fork and gently stirred the flour into the egg until I could handle the mixture by hand. I made a dough ball out of the flour and egg (yes, that’s all) and made sure I had enough flour sprinkled on the surface to be able to roll out the dough. I didn’t overwork the dough and didn’t roll it out too thin…

Meanwhile I put a small pot of water on to boil. Pinch of salt, a dash of EVOO.

After rolling out the dough, I ended up with a fairly large circle of dough, which I wiped with a sprinkle of flour, then folded one edge over about an inch and a quarter. I continued folding that size until I had a flattened dough ‘tube’. Then I made slices across it, about a quarter of an inch wide. I sprinkled flour on the work surface and unfolded the sliced pieces on top of the sprinkled flour and lightly mixed the flour into the pasta. This just keeps it from sticking together. How about that? My first homemade pasta!

I put a small pan onto the stove top and added in olive oil. I think it ends up being a bit less than a quarter cup, but don’t stress. You just need enough to sauté for now. Once the oil was heated, I added diced onions and garlic and sautéd them together. I love onions and garlic, so I was generous with the amounts, but you do you. You can add more EVOO if you need it (I did). Once the onions and garlic were done, I added parsley and mixed it in for just a minute and turned off the heat.

Meanwhile…I dropped the pasta into the boiling water and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes. Doesn’t take long. Then I drained it and added the pasta right into the sautéed onions, garlic and parsley. I tossed it with tongs, then added about a teaspoon of chicken stock. Not chicken broth. Chicken STOCK. It’s like a paste. Got it at the grocery store. I stirred that in using tongs and plated the meal. I added light salt and pepper.

Last step, I sprinkled a generous amount of parmesan cheese on top. Now here’s the thing. We don’t cook only in sequence. I time the cooking of the pasta with sautéing, mainly so I don’t overcook the pasta. And of course there was some onion dicing and garlic chopping in there. You get the idea. When I make this dish, the sautéed vegetables are done when the pasta is done. Not rocket science to make that timing work.

The BEST things about this dish for me are 1) there’s no meat in it (saves money and you don’t need meat in this dish); 2) it’s customizable (you can add whatever you want to add); 3) it’s quick and easy; 4) it’s a one person sized dish (no waste, no leftovers); and 4) IT IS DELICIOUS (Thanks YouTube).

I’m sure some of you are much better cooks than I am, but this dish just made sense to me and I was so excited to discover that I can make egg pasta! Doesn’t take much to excite me, clearly.

Try it and let me know what you think. Oh, and I’m not a vegetarian, by the way. By the way, real Italians cringe when they see meat and pasta served together. Just found THAT out too.