Sunday Supper: Lemon Butter Fettuccine With Poached Egg and Pancetta

Looking for an old world pasta dish with crispy pancetta and creamy sauce?  Look no further. Crispy pancetta and creamy white wine butter sauce with a perfectly poached egg. This pasta takes about 30 minutes and is a classic favorite with a twist. If you love eggs and bacon for breakfast, you will love this for dinner.

Things of note: If you are new to poaching an egg, there is a tutorial at the bottom of this post and you can review it before you begin. I recommend that you buy organic eggs for this dish because the raw yolk is part of the sauce. You can typically find fresh pasta in the refrigerated section of your grocery store or a specialty store near you. Fresh pasta takes hardly anytime to cook so watch it carefully.

What you will need
Fresh Fettuccine noodles
1/2 c dry white wine
Juice of 2 Meyer lemons
1 garlic clove smashed
3T. butter
Pacetta sliced into 1/2 cuts then cube 1/4" by 1/4"
Frozen peas
Salt
Cream
Organic egg
1 oz. of heavy cream

***Sugar Tip: You can ask the butcher to cut the pancetta for you to save time at home.

What to Do
The two things that will take the most time are baking your pancetta and reducing your sauce. Start be pre-heating your oven to 250. Cube your pancetta (if it isn't already) and pan sear in a skillet on medium high until the fat renders approximately 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Remove pancetta from pan and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Reduce white and lemon by half then turn the heat down to simmer and add one smashed garlic clove. Allow the clove to become aromatic (approximately 2 minutes) then remove.

***While the garlic is cooking, begin boiling water in two medium pots. One for your noodles and the other for your eggs. Add vinegar to one pot.

Whisk in butter and 1 oz. of heavy cream into your sauce and combine. Let simmer and sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt stir in the peas. 

At this point, your water should be just about to boil in both of your pots. Reduce the heat to a simmer on the pot with vinegar. For those of you who have never made a poached egg, the key is vinegar and water that is just about boil but not bubbling. If it begins to bubble, allow for the water to cool slightly before adding the egg. Drop your eggs into the water and allow to cook over simmer to desired hardness. For this dish, I highly recommend a yolkier style poach because the yolk combines with the white wine sauce to make a creamy delicious light and bright sauce.

Drop the pasta and allow to cook for a few minutes until aldente. It will only take 3-5 minutes. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spatula and allow to rest on a cutting board or paper towel. Drain pasta. Remove pancetta from oven. Toss pasta in white wine sauce. Plate pasta among dishes evenly dispersing the peas and pancetta. Top with the poached egg. Sprinkle with a finishing salt, crack black pepper and serve.

Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir

How to poach an egg
1) Bring water and 1 T. white vinegar to a simmer as in the video below then reduce heat to simmer.

2) Carefully place egg in the center of the pot, dropping low into the water to avoid splashing yourself.

You will see the egg change color as it cooks. In the first photo, you can see the jelly part near the yolk has a light yellow color still. As it cooks, it will become white and solidify. This process takes 5-7 minutes on simmer per egg. You can make multiple eggs at a time if you'd like.

3) Turn off heat and remove egg when cooked to desired temp with a slotted spatula and allow to rest on the cutting board or a paper towel to remove any excess water. Crack black pepper over it and sprinkle with finishing salt. Recommend: Kosher