When it comes to portion sizes, I’m usually pretty good at figuring out how much of something I need to make to feed my family. Usually. When it comes to pasta, namely spaghetti, I always end up making too much.
After a recent spaghetti dinner night, I was left with this…
It was about two cups of leftover pasta. I put it in the fridge, determined to figure out some way to use it, and I did, the following night!
I remembered running across a recipe for a spaghetti pie, or “pizza”, in one of Giada DiLaurentiis’ cookbooks and figured this would be a good time to try it. It ended up a huge hit with the family, and from now on I may purposely make extra pasta just so we can enjoy this later on!
I started by tossing that leftover spaghetti with a couple of beaten eggs, some milk, a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese, some salt, and pepper.
I added some olive oil to a medium-sized saute’ pan that was heating up on the stove, and then poured my spaghetti mixture into the pan, pressing it down flat so that it filled the pan nicely.
I let the pasta mixture cook in the pan over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until it was golden, toasty brown on the bottom. Once the crust on the bottom had formed, I ran a spatula around the edges and carefully slid the pasta onto a dinner plate. Then, I put another dinner plate on top of the pasta, flipped it over, and slid it back into the pan so that the cooked side was now facing up.
(At this point, I was really excited. Isn’t that fun?)
I let the pasta cook on the stove for about 6 minutes more, and then slid the pie onto a cutting board before serving.
When I sliced into it, the crust had a perfect crunch, and the toasty, Parmesan pasta inside smelled so good that the kids came into the kitchen to watch.
I served this as a side that night, alongside some chicken and veggies. I simply spooned some warmed marinara over the top and we were ready to eat!
It was delicious. Simple, crunchy, buttery, yummy. So good. The pasta in the middle was perfectly tender and the crunch of the crust was so amazing, we had to go back for seconds.
Let’s hear it for poor pasta portion judgement and leftover spaghetti!
PIZZA DI SPAGHETTI
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis
Pizza di Spaghetti
Recipe Type: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Adapted from Giada DiLaurentiis
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
- 2 cups leftover spaghetti
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- pasta sauce, for serving
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the spaghetti and toss, gently, to coat.
- In a 10 inch nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat on the stove top.
- Add the pasta mixture to the pan and spread the pasta out so that it fills the pan evenly.
- Cook until the pasta is golden brown on the bottom, about 8 minutes.
- Run a spatula around the edges to loosen the pasta, and slide the pasta out onto a dinner plate. Place another dinner plate on the top of the pasta and flip the pasta over. Return the pasta to the pan to cook the other side, so that the browned side is now facing up.
- Cook for another 6 minutes, or so, until the second side is nicely browned.
- Slide the pasta out onto a cutting board and slice into wedges.
- Serve with warmed pasta sauce and more grated Parmesan.
- ENJOY!
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