Leftover Pasta? Make a Frittata!
My guess is that many of us will be making a lot of pasta in the days ahead. So here’s something you can do with leftover pasta. Of course you can just warm leftover pasta in the microwave and have a decent lunch, but a frittata is so much better!
My most recent frittata with spaghetti and a tomato sauce, and the leftover meatballs cut into small pieces. Note the oven mitt on the handle!
On the plus side this will work with pretty much any strand or shape pasta. The downside, however, is that I don’t have an exact recipe because the amount of egg varies depending on how much pasta you have leftover.
This will work with almost any sauce, or even if you’ve served the pasta with some sautéed or roasted vegetables (see the second photo below). If you made the pasta sauce from my previous post, that’ll certainly work!
I’ll describe this most recent frittata. The night before we had made a full box of spaghetti with a tomato sauce and meatballs for three people. We probably had between ⅓ and ½ left over, well-sauced but not overly, and two meatballs. (If there’s too much sauce the eggs may not fully set, but they will be cooked!) I know this will be more like a template, so please feel free to email if you have any questions!
Leftover Pasta Frittata
Leftover pasta
Eggs
Parmesan or other grated cheese
Place the leftover pasta in a large bowl. If you have any whole meatballs or pieces of sausage, cut them into small pieces and scatter over the pasta, sprinkle Parmesan or other grated cheese over the top and toss.
In another bowl, scramble 5 eggs. Keep the carton of eggs out in case you need more.
Another frittata, this one with penne and butternut squash!
Turn on the broiler to preheat. In an large oven/broiler-safe skillet, heat a generous amount of olive oil over medium heat until shimmering and fragrant. It should not be too much oil, but more than just a thin coating. Once the pan is hot, pour the pasta into the pan and spread over the entire bottom of the pan. If all the meat and/or vegetables end up in one section, try to distribute more evenly.
Pour eggs over all, getting some along the edges and in the center as well. The egg mixture should not fully cover all the pasta but should come pretty close. I like some of the pasta to poke up above the top of the egg. If you need more egg, scramble one more. (If you have an exceptionally large amount of pasta you may need 2-3 more eggs.) Sprinkle more grated Parmesan or other cheese over the top.
Allow the eggs to set partially. I usually wait until I can see bubbles coming up in the center and the egg near the bubbles has begun to set.
Place the skillet in the broiler, about 3-4 inches from the heat. Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes, checking periodically to make sure it’s not burning. If all the egg has set and it’s puffy around the edges, it’s done. If not, continue to cook, checking at more frequent intervals. I like to let the pieces of pasta sticking up from the egg get a bit crunchy, but that’s just me.
Remove the skillet from the broiler and put an oven mitt over the handle to remind you not to touch it! Allow to cool slightly before cutting into wedges to serve.
It makes a great lunch, or even dinner with a side salad. Leftovers (that means the leftovers of the leftovers!) can be kept in the refrigerator and are good the next day for lunch at room temperature or after just a short time in the microwave to take the chill off.