If you’re like me, you’re probably content to eat any form of pasta for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so any leftovers are a rarity. My husband, A, is very fond of cooking and eating pasta, but he usually cooks the amount he’d like to eat, rather than the amount two people (and one dog) are capable of eating in one go. As a result, we often have leftover pasta sitting in the fridge. I’m the first to admit that I love even cold pasta, but it’s a little less appealing than the freshly cooked, steaming hot variety, with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground pepper. So… what do you do with leftover spaghetti?
A friend of A’s once taught me a great Italian trick for using up the remains of last night’s pasta: spaghetti frittata for breakfast. Open the fridge and take out a bowl of cold, lifeless, leftover spaghetti. Chop it up, and mix it with beaten eggs, cheese, herbs, and spices. Fry the whole thing in a cast-iron pan and finish it off under the broiler. It makes a great breakfast, possibly topped with a little creme fraiche and some salad on the side. It makes a nice dinner as well. It’s also extremely versatile. You can throw in bits of cured meat, add creme fraiche or sour cream to the batter, experiment with different herbs such as fresh oregano and thyme, use different types of cheeses, or add in olives or sun-dried tomatoes. The possibilities are endless, limited only by the bounds of good taste and whatever you’ve got in your pantry. My version uses ingredients I had lying around, including some leftover black-eyed peas. They add a pleasantly soft texture that contrasts with the chewy pasta. Lightly crushed coriander seeds add some crunch and a lemony flavor that goes well with the fennel.
Spaghetti Frittatta with Black-eyed Peas and Fennel
1-2 TBS butter
1/2 chopped onion
1 chopped spring onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 diced fennel
leftover pasta, coarsely chopped
leftover black-eyed peas
minced parsley
minced fennel fronds
3-4 beaten eggs
salt and pepper to taste
paprika to taste
1-2 tsp coriander seeds
grated or sliced cheese (goat, cheddar, gruyere, pecorino, etc.)
– Saute the onions and garlic on a medium to low flame in a large pan. When transluscent, add the fennel.
– Season onion mixture with coriander seeds and stir.
– In a bowl, mix the pasta with the beans, herbs, and eggs. Optionally, mix in some grated cheese.
– Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
– Pour pasta mixture into pan, and mix to more or less evenly distribute onions. Smooth into a pancake shape and allow to cook for several minutes.
– Turn on broiler and grate or slice cheese on top of frittatta.
– Turn off flame and place frittatta under the broiler until cheese bubbles and frittatta is lightly golden.
Makes breakfast for 2-3, along with a fresh salad, or grilled fennel with olive oil.
