Poor Man’s Pasta….When “There’s Nothing to Eat”

If I told you that you could actually make one of the tastiest pasta meals you’ll ever eat when your kitchen cabinets and refridgerator are at their absolute barest would you believe me? Ok, so MAYBE you’ll have to pick up 2 items at the grocery, but they’ll cost you no more than $5.

Poor Man’s Pasta is a little something I once threw together when there was no time to make it to the grocery store for a few consecutive weeks and, well, I got hungry. For most people, when “there’s nothing to eat in the apartment,” at the very least there’s a half-pack of pasta laying in the cupboard, a couple eggs sitting by their lonesome selves in the fridge, and a couple stray cloves of garlic in the vegetable crisper (that shelve-like contraption in the fridge where you’re supposed to store veggies, but probably don’t).

This dish is a bit like spaghetti carbonara with a twist (and the twist makes it yummier and healthier)! I’ve made this thing for meat-lovers and the pickiest eaters and it gets rave reviews every time.

FRUGAL ANDY’S POOR MAN’S PASTA

Ingredients

1/2 pack of spaghetti (multigrain preferably, but plain will do)

3 large garlic cloves (finely chopped)

Salt and black pepper to taste

3 medium or 2 large eggs

*4 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil (this is the “twist” I mentioned. Olive oil would also work but the toasted sesame oil has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor that makes this dish irresistible)

1/4 cup of Kraft Parmesan Cheese

*1 vine-ripened tomato (chopped)

*These are the ingredients that you may not have lying around the apartment, so a pit stop at the grocery might be necessary on the way home. But hey, two ingredients and $5 is a small price to pay for 2 plates’ worth of deliciousness…

Step 1

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil, a pinch of salt and the half-pack of pasta. Boil pasta until al dente (cooked on the outside, slightly firm on the inside…takes about 6 minutes on average). If you’re a novice in the kitchen, you might want to refer to About.com’s guide to cooking pasta because soggy noodles are really lame.

Step 2

In a large frying pan, pre-heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of sesame oil on the stove over a medium fire. After roughly 60 seconds, add the 3 chopped garlic cloves and let them cook for about 90 seconds. At that point, add the chopped tomatoes, another pinch of salt and a generous sprinkling of ground black pepper.

Tomatoes and garlic frolicking in toasted sesame oil...yum!

Step 3

Add the drained pasta to the frying pan and crack the 3 eggs over the pasta.  Using a pair of tongs or two large forks, or spoons, or whatever you can find that’s long and rectangular, toss the pasta as the eggs cook slowly.  When the eggs are almost cooked (they will look almost scrambled), turn off the heat and add the 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, still tossing the pasta to fully combine the mixture.

Tossing in the parmesan cheese

Step 4

Serve and devour! You can thank me later

The finished product

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