#27 / A NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR SPAGHETTI
Leftovers, reusing, recycling: words steeped in sustainability that are the perfect pairing for this installment of #forkEdition.
Do you ever find yourself with leftover spaghetti staring at you every time you open the fridge? Well, fear not! We have a recipe that gives new life to those leftovers.
All you need are some eggs, a dash of milk and a bit of cheese and you can turn them into a delicious traditional Neapolitan dish: Frittata di pasta, or as we like to call it, Frittata di maccheroni, as if we were right there in the shade of Mount Vesuvius!
As with many Italian dishes, there are countless variations you can try: with long or short pasta, in white (butter) or red (tomato) sauce, with a simple passata or a more elaborate ragù. It’s even up to you whether you cook it in a pan or in the oven.
But one thing never changes: they are lick-your-lips D E L I C I O U S! In fact, many people don’t even wait until they have leftover pasta – they cook it specially!
FRITTATA DI MACCHERONI
Preparation time: 10 minutes / Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 350g spaghetti
- 4 eggs
- 4 heaped tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
- 80g smoked bacon (optional)
- 30g butter (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk (if the pasta is indeed leftover, it needs to be softened with milk after being stored in the fridge)
Equipment
- A large bowl to whisk the eggs in
- A knife
- A non-stick frying pan with a lid
- A round plate with a diameter larger than the pan
Method
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously. Add the salt, diced smoked bacon, pepper, cubed butter and grated cheese, stirring well. For a lighter version, you can skip the bacon and butter.
Roughly chop the spaghetti (leftover or cooked specially) – they shouldn’t be too broken up but they shouldn’t be too long either – and add it to the mixture. Combine everything and finish with a final sprinkle of grated cheese. If the mixture is too thick, add a little milk to thin it out.
Lightly grease the frying pan and heat it up. When you pour in the mixture, it should sizzle and quickly form a nice crust.
The only challenging part of making Frittata di maccheroni is common to all frittatas: cooking it perfectly on both sides.
The trick is to keep the heat high and wait for the crust to create a firm base.
At this point, cover the frying pan with a plate and, holding it firmly, turn the whole thing upside down. The frittata will fall onto the plate, with the cooked side facing up and the raw side on the bottom. Slide it back into the pan to cook the other side until golden brown.
When both sides are cooked, cover the pan with a lid and let it rest for a few minutes with the heat turned off.
The Frittata di maccheroni is delicious when freshly made, with its soft, fragrant center and crispy, golden crust. But it’s just as good cold too, even the next day. You can store it in the fridge and eat it as is during the summer or warm it up in the microwave.
Cut into small pieces, it’s a great finger food and a perfect accompaniment for a Mediterranean-style aperitif. What a great idea, right?
Buon appetito! 💗
