So it's actually been a few years since I've actually done anything with this blog. Actually, life got in the way. Although I didn't starve to death while not updating this blog, I fell off the one-recipe-a-week resolution, because life got so incredibly busy, that all I wanted to do was to just not do anything more time consuming than opening a jar of spaghetti sauce and boiling some noodles. So the focus of this blog is going to change a little bit--I'll still share my cooking adventures, some recipes, and yes, I'll even eat food that I didn't cook.
So let me start this off right--I had been hungering for spaghetti pie these days, so I decided to break out a recipe and googled it. I found one on foodnetwork.com that sounded pretty good, but after reading some of the comments, I made a few modifications to it. For the original recipe: click here. My adaptation follows. I think it tastes darn good, too.
Ingredients
3/4 pound spaghetti
9 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
1 small onion, thinly sliced
16 cherry tomatoes, halved
20 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
6 ounces fontina, grated
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, grated
4 ounces feta, crumbled
4 ounces Parmesan, shredded 8 ounces Pancetta (I got a pack with them already diced up into little cubes)
Few sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into smaller pieces
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Special Equipment: 2 pyrex pie pans (or two cast iron skillets)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously add salt and 3 tablespoons of oil and add the spaghetti. Bring back to a boil and cook for 11 to 13 minutes until the spaghetti is just tender. Drain into a colander and rinse under cold water. Return the spaghetti to the pot and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cherry tomatoes, kalamatas, 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down.*
Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
Whisk the eggs and cream together in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining teaspoon of salt, a few grinds of pepper, the red pepper flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, fontina, feta, 4 ounces of the Parmesan, mozzarella, and the tomato mixture. Mix in the spaghetti.
Heat the remaining olive oil in the 10-inch skillet over high heat. Add the spaghetti mixture, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven for 30 minutes until the center of the pie is set and the top is golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Run a spatula around the edges and underneath the pie to loosen. Place a large plate over the skillet and invert the pie onto the plate. Place another plate onto the pie and invert again. Let the pie set for an additional 10 minutes.
Slice the pie into 6 to 8 pieces and garnish with Parmesan and basil leaves before serving.
*Cook's Note: You can help the tomatoes break down by crushing them with the back of a spoon as they get soft.
Labels: recipe |
