Brown Butter Pasta

Name: Brown Butter Pasta
Total time: PT0D0H0M
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: Kosher salt, to taste; 8 oz. fresh pasta, such as fettuccine or tagliatelle; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter; 3 ⁄ 4 cup pine nuts; 4 eggs; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; Freshly grated Parmesan; Grated nutmeg, to taste

Serves
serves 4

TODD COLEMAN

Brown Butter Pasta

Chef Gabrielle Hamilton of New York City's Prune restaurant gave us her recipe for this delicious pasta, which is tossed in brown butter and pine nuts, then topped with sunny-side-up eggs.

Ingredients

Kosher salt, to taste
8 oz. fresh pasta, such as fettuccine or tagliatelle
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
³⁄₄ cup pine nuts
4 eggs
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan
Grated nutmeg, to taste

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Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 4 minutes. Set a strainer over a bowl; drain pasta, reserving 1⁄2 cup pasta cooking water, and set aside.

Step 2

Melt butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pine nuts to a bowl. Working in two batches, crack eggs into butter and cook, spooning butter over yolks, until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes. Transfer eggs to a plate and keep warm. Add pasta and half the pine nuts to skillet and toss until hot. Stir in some of the reserved pasta water to create a sauce, and season with salt and pepper. To serve, divide pasta between 4 serving plates and top each serving with a fried egg. Sprinkle with remaining pine nuts, Parmesan, and nutmeg.

See our step-by-step guide to making fresh pasta in the gallery, below.

1. Form 3 cups flour into a mound; create a well in center. Sprinkle 1 tsp. kosher salt over flour. Add 3 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 2 tbsp. water, and 1 tbsp. olive oil to well.

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2. Using a fork, incorporate eggs and liquid in a circular motion, pulling in small amounts of flour until dough becomes stiff.

3. Knead dough, adding a little flour as necessary, to prevent sticking, until it's smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap; let rest for 30 minutes.

4. Cut dough into quarters.

5. Flatten 1 quarter into a rectangle (cover others with a towel). Pass dough through a hand-cranked pasta roller set at widest setting.

6. Fold dough in thirds, creating another rectangle; feed open edge through roller set at widest setting. Fold again; roll twice more using same setting. Decrease setting one notch and roll pasta through again; repeat, decreasing setting by one notch each time until you've reached the second-to-last setting, creating a 1/16"-thick sheet.

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7. Sprinkle sheet with flour; halve crosswise. Transfer to flour-dusted parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough, adding flour-dusted parchment paper between each layer.