This is the best way I’ve found to cook leftover pasta that has a relatively dry sauce, such as orecchiette with broccoli, spaghetti aglio e olio, and pesto tagliatelle. The photo here was made with leftover Orecchiette with Salsiccia & Mushrooms, one of the dishes from the Month of Traditional Italian Inspired by Lucio Galletto, and was perfect with a glass of Truffle Hill Fumé sauv blanc semillon. You can make this as a snack for 1 or 2 people with just a little leftover pasta and 2 eggs, cooking times will vary depending on the quantity of pasta and eggs.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 750g leftover cooked pasta with sauce (about 4 cups)
- 8 eggs, lightly beaten
Method
- Heat oil in an oven-proof frying pan over medium heat.
- Add pasta and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until heated through and starting to crisp a little, stirring occasionally with a metal spatula to turn the crisp bits as they stick to the bottom of the pan. Some sauces will stick more than others (such as those with tomato in them), just scrape them a bit more to remove as much of the crispy-stuck-on-bits as possible before adding the egg; I find it easiest to do this off the heat.
- Pour in egg, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, until mostly set.
- Meanwhile, pre-heat an overhead grill on high.
- Place pan under overhead grill and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until well-coloured, watching it closely.
- Cut into wedges and serve with salad.
