Pasta Frittata (leftover spaghetti)

Oh, you could microwave up that little bit of leftover pasta and meat sauce for lunch. Yes, it’d be good. You could also add a few eggs, add a little salad, and turn a so-so lunch into an elegant dinner. Here’s how:

Pasta Frittata

¾ cup leftover pasta and sauce mixed and drained of excess sauce (if you have sausage or meatballs, by all means, chop and include)

5 eggs

Oil

3 tbsp water or milk

One really good 10-inch non-stick frying pan

One dinner plate

1. Heat about 1-2 tbsp oil in a pan over medium heat.

2. Next step depends on what kind of pasta you have. If it’s long and thin, like spaghetti, do nothing. If it’s short and fat, like penne, you need to cut it up. (Otherwise, the weight of the pasta will pull the frittata apart.

3. Add pasta to oil, and heat thoroughly. You can even brown it just a bit (tastes yummy that way)

4. In a bowl, beat your eggs with the milk or water.

5. Off heat, add them to the pan and shake. Throughout the cooking process, you want to be almost continuously shaking (or jiggling, really) your pan. Then return to the pan and turn heat down slightly.

6. Using a spatula, do this: Swirl the egg around in a circle so coats the outside of the pan, then scrape the coating back down to the rest of the egg. Don’t stop shaking.

7. If you have too much liquid in the center, scramble it a little in the center of the pan. Continue shaking.

8. Finally, your eggs should be pretty set with a little liquid on top. If you’ve been shaking enough, it all should float freely along the bottom of the pan.

9. Now, off heat, clap that dinner plate over the top of the pan. Flip the whole thing over so the egg falls onto the plate.

10. Put the pan back on the heat, add a bit of oil, swirl, and the slide the egg back into the pan starting with the back edge.

11. Cook while jiggling for about two minutes.

12. Slide out and serve with wine and a salad.