Torta di Pasta

I’m a frugal girl at heart, and found myself in a bit of a leftovers situation. Earlier in the week, I had braised chicken with tomatoes, green olives, and onion in white wine and stock, then served over angel hair pasta. I made way too much, in fact much more than usual. Even though Hubs had eaten leftovers for lunch a few days, there was at least half a pound of cold pasta and a few cups of chicken mixture staring me in the face every time I opened the fridge. I had to find a way to use it up, and quickly. I was not going to just throw away perfectly good (very good, in fact) leftovers.

This is adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis’s cookbook Everyday Italian. Her version uses fresh spaghetti and sun-dried tomatoes, but I think this recipe works great for leftovers on hand. The torta comes together in no time and it tastes fabulous. I love the crispy texture of the outside and gooey (thanks to the fontina) inside. Yum! I think I’ll be making several variations on this recipe when I find myself with copious leftovers in the future.

Torta di Pasta

Ingredients:
8 oz. leftover spaghetti or angel hair pasta

1/2 to 1 c. leftovers (roasted veggies, chicken, etc.) or fresh goodies, like sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, fresh tomatoes, olives… Whatever you like

4 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

1 c. grated fontina

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix together leftover pasta and leftover veggies/chicken or fresh ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper, Parmesan, and fontina to blend. Add the pasta mixture and toss to coat.

Preheat the broiler. Melt the butter and oil in a 9 1/2-inch-diameter nonstick skillet over medium heat. Transfer the spaghetti mixture to the skillet, pressing to form an even layer. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the broiler. Broil until the top is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool in the skillet to room temperature.

Invert the torta onto a platter. Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature.