BREAKFAST CARBONARA

Breakfast Carbonara image

Alton Brown developed this recipe for his book "EveryDayCook" because it hits all of the best notes of breakfast in a way that is much more appealing than just eggs, sausage and toast. If you eat pasta early in the day, he reasons, that leaves plenty of time to work it off. He's a fan of cooking in cast iron, and calls for it here. But any good 12-inch sauté pan will do.

Provided by Kim Severson

Categories breakfast, pastas, main course

Time 45m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 ounces dried linguine, preferably whole wheat
2 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces breakfast sausage, either bulk or removed from its casings
2 scallions, thinly sliced
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 ounces Pecorino Romano, finely grated
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

Combine the orange zest, parsley and bread crumbs in a small bowl and set aside.
Add 2 quarts of water, salt and linguine to a large sauté pan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 4 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add the sausage, breaking it into pieces with a spoon, and brown. Add the scallions and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.
While the pasta and sausage cook, whisk together the eggs, cheese and pepper.
Drain the pasta, reserving a 1/3 cup of the starchy water. Add the pasta to the sausage mixture, tossing well to coat.
Remove from heat, add the egg mixture and toss some more, adding some pasta water to loosen the sauce.
Serve immediately with a generous sprinkle of the parsley mixture.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 372, UnsaturatedFat 10 grams, Carbohydrate 33 grams, Fat 19 grams, Fiber 5 grams, Protein 19 grams, SaturatedFat 7 grams, Sodium 566 milligrams, Sugar 1 gram, TransFat 0 grams