Leftover cooked pasta gets reincarnated, and more delicious, into pasta frittata. The base is cooked pasta bound with eggs and cheese, but feel free to add whatever veggies or proteins you have on hand. It’s the perfect use-whatever’s-in-the-fridge pasta bake that becomes irresistibly crispy baked in a skillet with lots of olive oil and butter. Top it with a fresh summer checca sauce and eat it hot or room temperature.
Ingredients
Pasta
4ozPancettadiced
1TbspOlive oil
6Eggs
1cupPecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano
1/2cupHeavy creamoptional, but adds a lovely custardiness
2TbspFresh herbsbasil or parsley are lovely
Salt and pepper To taste
2TbspsButter
8ozPastacooked al dente
Checca Sauce
1pintCherry tomatoesstemmed and halved
1cloveGarlicminced
2Scallionsthinly sliced
1/4cupOlive oil
1TbspCapers
6-8Basil leavesthinly sliced
Salt and pepper To taste
Instructions
Pasta
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Turn off heat but save the pan and it’s remaining fat for frittata.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cheese, cream, and herbs. Season generously with salt. Add cooked pasta tossing well to coat. Reheat pan over medium high and add butter. Spread pasta mixture into evenly into pan. Cook undisturbed until the bottom of the frittata is golden brown. Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until eggs are set.
Checca Sauce
For checca sauce, combine all ingredients and adjust seasoning to taste.
Carefully invert frittata onto a serving platter and slice into wedges. Serve with checca sauce.