’O Rtaglio — Uova al Tegamino con Prosciutto

Name: O Rtaglio - Uova al Tegamino con Prosciutto
Cuisine: Campanian
Ingredients: 100–120 g prosciutto crudo; 4 eggs; 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; Black pepper; Bread

Two fried eggs with soft orange yolks in a small pan over crispy rendered prosciutto, with bread alongside

Two fried eggs in a small iron pan over crispy rendered prosciutto trimmings, bread on the side for the scarpetta

This was one of my father's favourite ways of cooking eggs. I will be honest about my side of it: as a boy I did not really like the taste of prosciutto crudo that had been cooked — there is a sharpness it takes on in the pan that my child's palate refused. I came around to it later, the way you come around to most of the things your parents loved.

The name is pure Naples. 'O rtaglio — from ritagli, "trimmings": the tasty offcuts of prosciutto and other cured meats left over at the deli counter, sold cheap and used to flavour a pan of eggs. It is cucina povera in its purest form — nothing wasted, the fat of the ham rendered down into a seasoning more precious than any oil, the eggs cracked straight over it, the bread waiting for the scarpetta.

Why use the trimmings, not a fresh slice?

The offcuts of an aged prosciutto carry a high proportion of fat to lean, and it is the fat that matters here: rendered slowly in the pan it releases the cured meat's salt and umami into the cooking surface, seasoning the eggs from below. A neat slice of lean prosciutto would crisp and shrink without giving the same depth. The trimmings were cheaper and, for this dish, simply better — the economy and the flavour pointing the same way, as they so often do in a poor kitchen.

’O Rtaglio — Uova al Tegamino con Prosciutto — step by step infographic, Mediterranean Notes

Tap to enlarge — ’O Rtaglio: il prosciutto, le uova, la scarpetta

Recipe — ’O Rtaglio — Uova al Tegamino con Prosciutto

Serves 2 · about 10 minutes

100–120 g prosciutto crudo trimmings — strips or small cubes
4 eggs the freshest
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Black pepper freshly ground
Bread for the scarpetta

Render the prosciutto. Warm the olive oil in a small pan over medium-low heat and add the prosciutto trimmings. Let them cook gently until the fat renders and the edges crisp.

Crack the eggs directly over the prosciutto. Cook slowly until the whites set and turn opaque while the yolks stay soft.

Keep the heat gentle — you want set whites and runny yolks, not browned, rubbery edges.

The finishing touch. Grind black pepper over the top. No salt — the prosciutto has already seasoned everything.

La scarpetta. Serve straight from the pan with bread to mop up the yolk and the rendered juices. Leave nothing on the plate.

Two small variations my family allowed: a drop of tomato cooked in with the prosciutto, for a version that leans toward eggs in purgatory; or cooked-ham trimmings instead of crudo, milder and the one I preferred as a child. It belongs with the rest of how Naples cooks eggs — quick, frugal, and built around bread.

Niente si butta — e il rtaglio diventa il sapore.