Spaghetti frittata pie, a classic Italian dish that combines cooked spaghetti baked with eggs, cheese, milk, and my version has chopped broccoli rabe. A great excuse to have pie for dinner!
I made this last week and my kids were quite amused to see pasta served to them in a triangular slice of “pie”. They dug right in and were immediately hooked on the glorious crunch that baked spaghetti attains. I’m a sucker for it too.
Growing up one of my favorite meals that my dad would make was fried spaghetti. It’s basically just leftover spaghetti fried in a skillet with olive oil. The trick is to pat it down and let it really crisp before stirring so you can get a really crispy and crunchy piece of spaghetti. Kinda the way tahdig rice gets that divinely crunchy coveted bottom layer. I can just taste it now, a big bowl filled with burnt orange and brown spaghetti topped with black pepper, grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil on top- it was a king’s dish made from made from humble ingredients. Comfort food at its finest.
Ah, to be young and now worry about eating straight fried pasta for dinner without a care in the world about the consequences I would now face as a middle aged woman with a metabolism that is puttering along. But I digress..
So what I love about this baked spaghetti frittata pie is the crispy crunch crust that encrusts the whole top, bottom, and sides of the pie! And it’s so easy to make!
It’s a traditional dish born as a dish of recovery, because as with many cultures, the Italians don’t like food waste! In Naples it’s called “frittata di spaghetti”, the spaghetti pie, a traditional dish of the Campania region and of Neapolitan cuisine. It can be made with red sauce or without, stove top or oven, and the opportunity to customize with meats, various cheeses, spices, herbs and vegetables is huge.
This spaghetti pie recipe is borrowed from the great Deb Pearlman of Smitten Kitchen. But feel free to put your own spin on spaghetti frittata pie!
How to Make Baked Spaghetti Frittata Pie with Broccoli Rabe
Gather simple ingredients: Spaghetti, broccoli rabe, cheese, eggs, milk, salt, pepper
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, wrap the outside of the springform tightly in aluminum foil. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add broccoli rabe to the pot and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and set on a dry, clean kitchen towel. When cooled a tad, squeeze out extra water. Cut off about ⅓ of the stems and discard or save for other use. Mince the rest into smaller pieces and set aside.
Add spaghetti to the same boiling water and cook until very al dente, as the spaghetti will continue cooking in the oven. Drain into colander and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk together with salt and pepper. Stir in all but 1/2 cup of each cheese and chopped rabe, if using. Add spaghetti and toss to coat.
Pour into the prepared springform. You may need to press it in a bit to form an even top.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Slide a rubber spatula along the springform ring to loosen, then remove the ring. Run a spatula underneath the pie to loosen the base and slide onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.
Baked Spaghetti Frittata Pie with Broccoli Rabe
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing springform
- 1 ¼ cup broccoli rabe broccoli florets and leaves mainly, try to avoid too many stems
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 8 ounces aged pecorino cheese finely grated, divided
- 8 ounces fontina cheese grated, divided
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, wrap the outside of the springform tightly in aluminum foil. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add broccoli rabe to the pot and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and set on a dry, clean kitchen towel. When cooled a tad, squeeze out extra water. Cut off about ⅓ of the stems and discard or save for other use. Mince the rest into smaller pieces and set aside.
- Add spaghetti to the same boiling water and cook until very al dente, as the spaghetti will continue cooking in the oven. Drain into colander and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk together with salt and pepper. Stir in all but 1/2 cup of each cheese and chopped rabe, if using. Add spaghetti and toss to coat.
- Pour into the prepared springform. You may need to press it in a bit to form an even top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The top will be browned, cheese melted, and a knife inserted into the center of the pie and turned slightly will not release any loose egg batter into the center. If the top of your pie browns too quickly before the center is set, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time.
- Slide a rubber spatula along the springform ring to loosen, then remove the ring. Run a spatula underneath the pie to loosen the base and slide onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.
