Monday, January 31, 2011

Leftover pasta frittata, finger food for your Super Bowl party

  • Pin It
Still looking for Super Bowl recipes? There's nothing better for a party than a simple pasta frittata.

It's essentially a pancake made out of leftover cooked pasta, sauce and all. You mix the leftover pasta (any shape) with eggs and cheese, then fry the whole mess up in a hot pan. Brave souls will try to flip it using the upside-down plate trick - I used to do it - but lazy bums like me stick the whole thing under the broiler for a few minutes to cook the top. Cut it into wedges, serve hot or warm or cold, eat with fingers. This is a-one party food, picnic food, and especially midnight snack food (trust me on this one).

Spaghetti frittata with wild mushrooms and bacon

Pasta pancake (frittata)
  • 4 cups leftover pasta, with sauce and add-ins
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
  • Salt and pepper
  • Anything else you think might work: crumbled bacon, diced cooked chicken, leftover cooked vegetables, capers, chopped anchovies, a few sun-dried tomatoes....
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
Preheat the broiler on high with the rack on the second-highest shelf.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in the olive oil, then dump in the pasta-egg mixture. As it sets, lift up the edges with a spatula so more of the egg can run underneath.

When the bottom is set and browned, put the skillet under the broiler. Check it after three minutes to make sure it's not burning. I usually leave it in about five minutes, but it will burn easily, depending on the strength of your broiler.

When the top is golden brown, remove the pan from the oven and let the frittata sit in the pan for about 10 minutes. The residual heat will cook the egg all the way through, if it hasn't already, and letting it cool will allow it to set up a bit before you take it out and cut it.

After a little bit, slide the frittata onto a board. Cut into wedges and serve.

17 comments:

Monet said...

This is brilliant Erika! I have never heard of this before (which is a shame because it sounds easy and delicious!) Thank you for sharing such a creative and tasty super bowl recipe with me. I hope you have a safe and warm day tomorrow...we're about to get very cold in Austin!

Erika Kerekes said...

@Monet - the original idea came from a very long-ago issue of Gourmet magazine. I probably still have the clipping in my recipe box....

eatingRD said...

genius!!! This is the perfect finger food. My fiance Chris wouldn't even bother with the tricky plate trick, he'd try to flip the entire thing in the air. I'd say about 1 in 5 he is actually successful and I hold my breath every time he tries it with something lol

Erika Kerekes said...

@RD - I don't think there is any way to flip this successfully in the air (or with spatula). It's too thick and not solidified enough at the point where it's necessary to turn it over. But if he can, WOW I would like to see that!

Rhonda said...

Yumm, something different yet perfect for the Super Bowl, thanks.

Maria said...

Love this recipe!

Cookin' Canuck said...

We love doing this with our leftover pasta and it's great how many variations it can take on.

Anonymous said...

In the recipe, when you write "4 cups leftover pasta, with sauce and add-ins" do you mean pasta sauce like red sauce?

Erika Kerekes said...

@Amanda - yes, this recipe works best when you use already-dressed pasta. Any sauce. Red sauce, pesto sauce, cream sauce. Whatever you ate on your pasta, dump it all together into the bowl.

Kesha Tickets said...

That fantastic! realy! these website is way better then everything I ever saw.

Sippity Sup said...

I don't like football. But can I make these anyway?? GREG

Erika Kerekes said...

@Greg - I only like football once a year. But I make pasta frittata at least once a month. So, YES!

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

I used to make this all the time when my kids were young...thanks for the reminder..I need to try it again!

Pati @ A Crafty Escape said...

This looks so yummy I might have to make extra pasta to make it ;)

Erika Kerekes said...

@Pati - I do that all the time!

Louis said...

I didn't know that it's possible to make a pasta pancake. I just can't imagine it. But seeing these photos, I realized that it's possible and I should definitely try it sometime.

italian ingredients

Erika said...

This is an old classic Italian recipe for leftover...especially in Southern Italy...trust me, I'm Italian :) (I actually live in the north of Italy...but this is is a well-known recipe in the whole territory)

Post a Comment