We did not have a lot of money in our family growing up but my mother always managed to serve delicious food so we never knew that what we were eating was economical. Like this Bucatini With Ham & Eggs dish for instance, back then, the ham was cheap and so was eggs and pasta but combined together, they taste like an expensive dish. This recipe is similar to Spaghetti Carbonara except that it has no parmesan cheese, pancetta, and is a country version. You can use any smoked ham in this recipe but what I find tastes the best is a bone-in-
What I do is take the left over ham with the bone and place it in a pot and cover with water and bring to a boil and then simmer for about 2 hrs. Afterward, the meat falls off the bone and there is much more meat to recover plus, it gets rid of some of the salt while retaining the smoky flavor. After it cools, I just pull the meat off the bones and cut into 1-inch pieces. Finally, here’s how I make it:
This recipe is so simple, all of the ingredients are in this photo which includes, 2 cups of smoked cooked ham cut into 1 inch pieces, 6 eggs slightly beaten, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. The pasta my mother used was long macaroni noodles, which are difficult to find these days but can be found online. I used bucatini noodles which are similar in that they have a hole in the middle and are thicker than spaghetti noodles. However, you can also use penne or whatever pasta you have on hand.
After cutting up your 2 cups of ham, take the bucatini noodles, a few at a time, and break into thirds. Cook according to the instructions but they should be al dente because you will cook them some more afterwards. When pasta is done, drain, toss with a little olive oil, and set aside.
Break all six eggs into a measuring cup or bowl, and beat slightly, and add a little salt and pepper.
Next, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large nonstick pan, big enough to hold the pasta and all the ingredients. Heat oil over med heat and cook the ham until heated and slightly browned.
Once ham is slightly browned, add the cooked bucatini noodles and toss well to combine the ham, oil, and noodles. My mother always added a lot of black pepper to the dish but you can add as much as you like.
After ham and noodles are well combined and hot, add the beaten eggs. At this point you can add the black pepper if you like a lot of pepper, which I love in this dish.
Keep tossing and cooking the pasta until the eggs are cooked, turning the pasta continually to coat with the eggs as it cooks.
When it’s done, you should be able to see pieces of egg and ham throughout the dish. Garnish with a little chopped parsley and that’s it, simple but delicious. Enjoy and happy cooking!
Prep Time: 20 min Cooking Time: 20 min
Difficulty: Easy Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
2 cups smoked ham cut into 1- inch pieces
6 eggs slightly beaten
1 12 oz. package of bucatini pasta broken into thirds
4 tablespoons of olive oil plus some to toss into the pasta after cooking
salt & pepper
parsley chopped for garnish