If you’re of a certain age, you may remember the slogan, “The incredible, edible egg.” Well I had a source for the absolute best eggs, and, sadly, the farmer who raised her hens so lovingly passed away last month.

As a tribute to her, I wrote about my method for making pasta carbonara in this past week’s Berkshire Eagle column, a recipe that benefits from having the freshest, local eggs. Believe me, I know carbonara can seem complicated, because it’s all too easy to end up with scrambled eggs (which used to happen to me all the time), but do try this method which is pretty simple!

BEST EGGS

by Elizabeth Baer

The last dozen. I made sure everything I cooked with that last dozen put eggs in the spotlight: salad Lyonnaise with a sous vide egg on top; blueberry-key lime tart; challah bread; fried eggs on toast; and pasta carbonara.

For many years I’ve bought eggs exclusively from my former principal’s former assistant’s mother’s chickens. Even after I, and the assistant, and that principal were no longer at that school, I continued to buy eggs from Jeannette.

When I started doing so, Jeannette would come to school on Fridays with the eggs people had wanted. If I was able to get down to the office while she was there, we always spoke about the chickens, how they were doing in whatever weather we’d been having, and what I was planning to make with the eggs. When covid hit, I would drive over to her house, leave the empty cartons with money tucked inside, and retrieve the dozen or two that I had requested.

Jeannette always amazed me, continuing to raise chickens well into her 80s! And as the years went by, we would chat about this, that, and the other, and I would drop off homemade truffles for her at the holidays. It even got to the point where she knew the frequency of my purchases, and would call when she sensed I was getting short, and I would let her know if I was traveling so she wouldn’t be wondering.

This spring, sadly, she was diagnosed with cancer. Her daughter, Elaine, – the former principal’s former assistant – kept me posted, as I continued to head over to her house to buy my eggs, while her neighbor helped with the chickens since they had been cooperating for quite some time, buying feed and supplies in larger quantities. One Wednesday a few weeks ago, she called to say hi, checking on my egg supply. Jeannette sounded great and we had a lovely, upbeat chat, and then on Sunday she passed. After Elaine texted to let me know, she mentioned how I could still get eggs from the neighbor who had helped her mom, or her nephew who lived down the street and was also raising chickens. I told Elaine we need not worry about eggs right then, and she replied, “I know, but I had to add what Mom would have said.”

With fond memories of Jeannette, though I normally wouldn’t write pasta recipes two times in a row, I had to include something where the freshest local eggs are the star. With that in mind, I am sharing how I make carbonara.

Unlike many pasta recipes and Italian sensibilities about what shape goes with what sauce, carbonara seems to be less bound to a particular shape. I’ve even seen it with either dried or fresh pasta. But it took me a long time to figure out how to make this successfully. There were many attempts when the eggs would just become scrambled. Then I heard that a bit of fat will help prevent that from happening, which is why some recipes resort to adding some cream to the eggs. My practice, though, uses the fat from the pancetta (or guanciale or bacon) for that purpose. I also like my carbonara a bit richer with one whole egg and two additional yolks.

And this means I have two egg whites left over when I make this dish. I also have egg whites remaining from the blueberry-key lime tart I made with this last dozen. Whenever I have extra egg whites, I put them in a ½-cup plastic container, and if it’s not full, I’ll add to it the next time. This way, when I make financiers (little French brown-butter cakes with nut flour), I can defrost one container of egg whites for the exact amount I need. So the fact is I still have some of Jeannette’s eggs, waiting for the next time I make a batch of these bite-sized treats, and just like everything I made with this last dozen, I will savor them and think of her.

PASTA CARBONARA

Serves 2, can be doubled (although you need a really big sauté pan)

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
3 ounces pancetta or guanciale or bacon, preferably a chunk, cut into ½-inch pieces
8 ounces pasta
1 egg
2 egg yolks
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano, plus more for serving
(or 4 tablespoons of one cheese, either Parmesan of pecorino)

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan until shimmering and fragrant. Add the meat and sauté until most of the fat has rendered out of the meat and the pieces are getting crispy, adding a touch more oil only if necessary. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat to a paper towel. Leave the rendered fat in the pan on a very low flame, keeping watch to prevent burning of any stray bits.

Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. If you are using fresh pasta, make the egg mixture before cooking the pasta.

If using dried pasta, while the pasta is cooking, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, salt, pepper, and grated cheese.

When the pasta is done, move the pasta pot right next to the sauté pan. Remove the pasta directly from the water into the sauté pan, using tongs for a strand pasta, or a spider or strainer for a shape. Try to shake off most of the water as you transfer, but don’t overdo it. You want some water going into the sauté pan, too.

Swirl the pasta around in the rendered fat and oil. Turn off the burner. Add the egg mixture and stir well to prevent the egg from setting, and for enough time for the egg mixture to become hot from the residual heat in the pan. Add a tablespoon or two of pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.

Divide the cooked meat among the plates and serve immediately with more fresh ground pepper and grated cheese at the table.

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Incredible Eggs