{"id":4297,"date":"2018-03-09T09:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=4297"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:58:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:46","slug":"frittata-di-spaghetti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/09\/frittata-di-spaghetti\/","title":{"rendered":"Frittata di Spaghetti (Frittata with Spaghetti)"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 9, 2018<\/span><\/p>\n

Although I typically heat up left over pasta and have it for lunch, it definitely pales in comparison to the freshly made dish.<\/p>\n

In the pre-microwave days of my youth, leftover pasta was heated gently in a saut\u00e9 pan with a little bit of water added.\u00a0 Now, the microwave makes quick work of the same task.<\/p>\n

If you have leftover pasta, though, consider turning it into a frittata.\u00a0 I think it constitutes an entirely new dish, and not leftovers, because it\u2019s being turned into something totally different.<\/p>\n

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A slice of frittata with a few Calabrian oil-cured peppers on the side<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We eat so much pasta in our house that if we turned the leftovers into frittate (the plural of frittata) our dinners would alternate between pasta and frittata almost every day of the week!\u00a0 That\u2019s why some of the leftover pasta is simply heated up for lunch.<\/p>\n

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A frittata is often referred to as an Italian omelet.\u00a0 But an omelet it most definitely is not.<\/em>\u00a0 It is cooked using a different technique with a different intended outcome.<\/p>\n

Calling a frittata an Italian omelet is like calling everything made from ground beef a hamburger.\u00a0 (OK, off my soapbox for now.)<\/p>\n

You can use most any combination of pasta and sauce for a frittata but you don\u2019t want there to be lots of extra sauce or it will be difficult to get the eggs to set.<\/p>\n

Most often, I\u2019ll use a long thin pasta, like spaghetti or spaghettini with either a tomato sauce or anchovies and garlic.\u00a0 They both work well.\u00a0 That said, I\u2019ve made frittate from a wide array of leftover types of pasta.\u00a0 Shape is no object!<\/p>\n

If you happen to know somebody who raises chickens or if you have access to freshly laid eggs at a farm stand or farmers\u2019 market this is an excellent use for them.\u00a0 There\u2019s little that stands between you and the eggs, so using really good, fresh eggs is noticeable.<\/p>\n

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Crushed red pepper is a good alternative to Calabrian oil-cured peppers, but definitely not as flavorful<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I mentioned earlier this week, I\u2019m losing the battle to raise chickens<\/a> at our house.<\/p>\n

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A frittata is cooked slowly in a saut\u00e9 pan until the eggs set and turn golden brown on the bottom.\u00a0 I prefer to do this with the pan covered as it aids in setting the top of the eggs, too.<\/p>\n

Once the bottom is set, there are two methods to finish the frittata.\u00a0 One is to put the frittata under the broiler or in the oven.\u00a0 The good folks at Wikipedia think this is the only way to do it.\u00a0 In fact, I would suggest that most Italians do not do that.\u00a0 They simply flip the frittata over.\u00a0 (OK, I was back on the soapbox for a moment there.)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to finish the frittata by flipping, however, you need to be sure that the top of the frittata is not runny.\u00a0 It should be just barely set.<\/p>\n

In case you missed it, I previously published a recipe for an onion frittata<\/a>.\u00a0 Although it uses a large quantity of onions, they cook down into sweet, golden deliciousness before the eggs are added.<\/p>\n

And\u2026before we leave the subject of leftovers\u2026leftover frittata makes a great filling for a sandwich, especially with a few oil-cured Calabrian peppers!<\/p>\n

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If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com<\/a> and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven\u2019t seen Bertha\u2019s Flan<\/a> or Melinda\u2019s Drunken Prunes<\/a>, take a look.\u00a0 They will give you an idea of what I\u2019m looking for.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Frittata di Spaghetti (Spaghetti Frittata)<\/h2>\n
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This is a wonderful Italian way to use leftover pasta by turning it into something completely different. The proportions are approximate and will depend on how much pasta is leftover. The pictures show this being made with about half a pound (uncooked weight) of spaghettini with anchovy and garlic (see the Notes section below for a link to the recipe) but it works equally well with most pastas and sauces, including tomato sauce. Use 8 eggs if you have a larger amount of leftover pasta or if you need to stretch the dish to feed more. Use either onion or garlic as the aromatic. Which you choose will depend on which better compliments the pasta. In this case, because the sauce had a lot of garlic, I chose onion to add a bit of a sweet note. If using a tomato sauce, I would have chosen garlic. Whether or not to use Parmesan cheese follows the same logic. Italians feel that cheese rarely goes with fish, like the anchovies in this sauce, so I didn\u2019t use it.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>10 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hr<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hr<\/span> 10 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>4<\/span> people<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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