Arguably, carbonara is the best pasta dish to put an egg on and call brunch. After all, the traditional recipe calls for a raw egg to bind the sauce together with pancetta (or bacon) and fresh cheese. So why not add more egg into the mix? I had fun creating this “nest” version of carbonara, and hope you enjoy eating it.

If you make this recipe and post a pic, tag @meags_eggs on Instagram!

Ingredients:

• About 1/4 of a standard box of bucatini or spaghetti noodles
• 5 large eggs (1 for mixing, 4 for the nests)
• About 5 small slices of salami, or a 1/2 cup of chopped pancetta or bacon
• 1/2 cup alfredo sauce (or shaved pecorino or parmesan cheese)

Estim. Prep & Cooking Time: 20 mins.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Bring water to a boil for the pasta. I fill a medium sized pot about a third of the way.
• While the oven heats and the water boils, rip up the pieces of salami into small pieces (if using pancetta, now is a good time to chop it; if using bacon, quickly cook and break the strips into small pieces).
• When water reaches a boil, cook pasta according to package instructions. I cooked my bucatini 2 minutes past al dente, for a total of about 9 minutes. When finished, strain and transfer pasta to a mixing bowl.
• Add alfredo sauce (or your fresh cheese) to the bowl, then crack 1 egg into the bowl.
• Sprinkle some salt and pepper into the bowl, and then mix vigorously to break up the yolk and fully mix the egg with the sauce/cheese and noodles. Add in the salami/pancetta/bacon, and stir until noodles are fully and evenly coated with sauce.
• Using your hands, grab some of the sauce-coated pasta and arrange into a nest with space in the middle on the baking sheet. Repeat for 4 nests. They should be about 4-5 inches in diameter and deep enough to contain an egg.
• Crack an egg into the center of each nest. It’s okay if the egg whites spill over the nests a little bit, as long as you’re able to contain the yolks in the middle.
• If you have extra salami/pancetta/bacon, sprinkle more on top of each egg nest, then add salt and pepper to the eggs as desired.
• Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the egg whites have set, but the yolks are still soft. To check, hold the corner of the pan with an oven mitt and lightly jiggle the pan to see if the whites are set or still liquidy. Remove when the yolks wiggle but the whites don’t move much.
• Use a spatula to transfer the nests to a serving dish.
• Admire your work, take pictures, tag me and enjoy!