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Pasta is usually assigned to lunch or dinner.

This recipe ignores that boundary.

The dish combines pasta spirals with mushrooms, onion, Italian seasoning, a little heat, and an egg-milk-stock mixture that cooks around the pasta like a loose savory custard.

The important detail is that the eggs should remain saucy rather than becoming scrambled.

Ingredients

Makes 2–4 servings

For the pasta:

• 2 cups pasta spirals, whole wheat or brown rice
• 1 tsp salt

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp ghee or butter
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning, dried or fresh
• a dash of hot sauce or chilies
• a dash of Worcestershire sauce
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the custard:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, for finishing

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Add the pasta and salt, then cook according to the package directions until al dente.

While the pasta cooks, warm the ghee or butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.

Add the onion and mushrooms and sauté for about 4–5 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft.

Stir in the Italian seasoning, chilies or hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and vegetable stock until well combined.

Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the frying pan.

Mix well, then reduce the heat to medium-low.

Pour in the egg mixture and stir constantly for about 3–4 minutes, keeping the mixture saucy rather than allowing it to set into scrambled eggs.

Stir in the Parmesan, add more freshly ground pepper if desired, and serve immediately.

The eggs are a sauce here

That is the distinction that makes the recipe interesting.

Eggs can become scrambled very quickly when they hit a hot pan.

Here, the heat is reduced before the egg mixture is added, and constant stirring keeps it coating the pasta rather than forming separate curds.

The result is closer to a custard-like sauce.

Mushrooms create the savory base

The mushrooms and onion are cooked before the pasta enters the pan.

That gives them time to soften and develop their own flavor instead of becoming background ingredients added at the last minute.

The Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and optional heat then build on that base.

Breakfast is a context

The dish is a way to combine grains and protein in the morning, and it also works as a late-night snack.

That flexibility is useful.

A dish becomes breakfast because of when and how we eat it, not because pasta has been granted special permission to appear before noon.

The real technique here is simply to keep the egg mixture fluid enough to become part of the sauce.