Pizza pasta before cutting

Leftover spaghetti at my house means one thing, pizza pasta. I have seen several different chefs on cooking shows make this, but after seeing it on David Rocco’s Dolce Vita on the Cooking Channel, I decided I had to try it.

Nothing could be simpler than combining a couple of servings of already cooked spaghetti with two eggs, parmesan cheese and black pepper, then pan-frying it in olive oil. The only challenge is flipping the pizza when the first side is crispy and golden brown. I have a large, round serving plate which has a diameter just greater than that of my sauté pan that I invert and place on top of the pan. Then I lay one hand on top of the plate and hold it in place while turning the pan over to get the uncooked side of the pizza on the now upright plate. I complete the move by sliding the pizza off the plate and into the pan to cook the other side. The cooking time for each side depends on how much spaghetti you have. I cooking over medium high heat, it usually takes about 4 minutes per side.

Close up view of a slice of pizza pasta nested in a wreath of roasted asparagus

The outcome is a combination of crunchiness from the golden brown crust and a creaminess of the eggs that are enveloping the spaghetti on the interior of the pizza. This can be a good snack or combined with something else to make a complete meal. Sometimes I serve it with a marinara sauce, but on this occasion, I paired it with some asparagus spears that I roasted in the oven with olive oil, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and black pepper.

I have two daughters under the age of five who are growing rather picky about what they are willing to eat. They are both willing to eat this and often have more than one serving. On that regard, this is a definite win for me.