Recipe: Pasta Fritatta

There's been a ton discussion over at thekitchn.com recently about fritatta (the omelet like dish popular in many European countries). As a small child my mother prepared a fritatta as a quick weekend meal, and now as an adult I make frittata about every week (it's nourishing, full of flavor, and can usually be prepared with whatever leftovers one has in the fridge). I've used left over spinach, zucchini, asparagus, sausage, fried potatoes, roasted vegetables, salmon, thinly sliced beef, etc. My favorite is the onion and potato version!

The frittata discussion on thekitchn.com has focused on pasta frittata, which from my understanding originated in Sicily (at least that's what my Sicilian-born Aunt has told me). You can use any leftover pasta you have for this egg dish, but it should be plain pasta which you'll jazz up a bit before adding to your mixture, but it shouldn't be covered in tomato sauce, for example. I prefer angel air (capellini) or small bucatini (spaghetti with a hole in the middle).

Here's the recipe:

Heat up a Teflon or stainless steel pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Because you are going to have to put it in the oven to finish cooking you will need an oven proof pan. Place the left over pasta in your pan with a dash of olive (you're looking to re-heat the pasta). Once you have your pasta nice and hot add two-three dollops of fresh ricotta and a bit of salt and pepper. Thoroughly mix the ingredients and remove from the pan. Next, beat two eggs and two egg whites together with salt and pepper (you can of course use 4 whole eggs but I don't like the extra cholesterol and the flavor isn't compromised buy using some egg whites). Place the pasta mixture back in the pan and pour the beaten eggs on top of the pasta. Cook for about five minutes. To finish cooking the top of the frittata, put it under the broiler but keep a close eye on the pan. It is done when the frittata is browned nicely on top. Sprinkle a generous amount of Parmigiano-Reggiano on the top if frittata and enjoy hot or cold.