Returning from a week-long vacation to an empty refrigerator, one home cook turned to pantry staples and made spaghetti with fried eggs and pangrattato—a dish first spotted on Food52 as "Rhonda's Spaghetti with Fried Eggs with Pangritata for One." The meal required no trip to the store, according to the cook's account, and relied on pasta, bread and eggs already on hand.
Pangrattato translates from Italian as "grated bread," referring to breadcrumbs themselves. In dishes, it is often called the "poor man's Parmesan" because stale bread lightly toasted in olive oil with herbs and seasonings—anything from salt and pepper to garlic, anchovies, lemon zest, capers or olives—adds texture and complex flavor to pasta without the cost of Parmesan. The cook noted the crumbs would also work as a topping for canned fish, steamed mussels, warm vegetable salads, sautéed greens, or eggs without pasta.
The cook described loving the crunch throughout tangles of al dente lunchtime spaghetti, with the fried egg broken up on top adding richness. The version was a nod to Rhonda's original, and the cook said they would be repeating it within the hour.
The vacation itself was at a kid-centric resort during Presidents' Week, a trip the cook had once sworn off after a child-heavy experience years earlier. This time, the setup—day camp with pony rides, water slides, trapeze school, circus training and a pirate-themed treasure hunt for underwear—allowed the adults to read, nap and relax on the beach while the child was entertained. The cook called it the best family vacation yet and expressed hope of repeating it next year.
The post included a note that it was not sponsored or paid, and that all vacation costs were absorbed by the author. It also listed previous recipes from the same date in prior years, including Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew, French Onion Tart, and Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese.
Editorial Notes