This article was published on September 3, 2019 and may be out of date. To maintain our historical record, The Cascade does not update or remove outdated articles.
We’ve all heard of “rent week chicken” or “rent week potatoes” — cheap, filling recipes to stretch a buck after you’ve e-transferred your landlord and overdrawn your chequing account to buy toothpaste. But what if you’re so broke that you’re having a whole rent month? Rent semester? Rent year? Rent life? This recipe is for you, and it uses nine eggs because it will last you — literally — an entire week. If you don’t need that much, use less, or use what you have. The proportions of this dish, including the sauce, are flexible; just try to make sure you have enough sauce for your noodles.
Ingredients:
- ~450-900 g (1-2 lbs) dry pasta (something with more texture than plain noodles, e.g. macaroni)
- 9 egg yolks
- Olive oil
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 bag frozen peas or green beans
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice
- 1 package mushrooms
- 1 big pinch red pepper flakes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Optional: fried eggs, tuna
Instructions:
- It’s best to fry the mushrooms on their own over medium-low heat until they release their moisture and are soft and meaty, then put them to the side while you make everything else.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, leaving room for both your pasta and your peas or beans. This is your one chance to make the pasta itself not taste like wet flour, and the noodles will only absorb a small portion of the dissolved salt, so don’t hold back on seasoning.
- Mince as many cloves of garlic as you think you would like. Heat a generous amount of olive oil (~50 ml or 1/4 cup) over low heat and sauté garlic gently until it softens.
- Separate 9 eggs. (Don’t throw the whites away! Make a pavlova — a giant, crispy marshmallow — for dessert.) Pour warm garlic and oil into a large serving bowl and whisk together with egg yolks, 15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Don’t add salt yet.
- Cook your pasta according to the package, and when it’s almost done, add your peas. If frozen, this will lower the water temperature significantly, so wait for the water to boil again, then time it for 30 seconds and drain.
- Add hot noodles, peas, and mushrooms into sauce bowl and toss to coat immediately. Season to taste and serve. To add more protein, top it with fried eggs or canned tuna; otherwise, enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Andy Baraghani’s Sad Boy Pasta
Image: Mikaela Collins /The Cascade
