We’ve talked about it before. I’m not a casserole kind of chef, I’m an over-thinker who genuinely enjoys multiple components. The more complicated, the better. I crave a challenge. That is all well and good in a life that revolves only around me, but alas, I am married to midwestern man that just needs a dang casserole once in a while.
Once in a while is an overstatement. Poor Travis gets his casserole fill perhaps once a year, and even then he probably has to make it himself. The rest of the year he’s tortured with crepes, dim sum, tapas and any other variety of international dishes I want to tackle. He leads a difficult life.
As a byproduct of a recipe testing weekend, we found ourselves drowning in spaghetti with roasted tomato sauce. In my strange world I love cold leftover noodles. Sometimes I think I make pasta just so I can eat the cold leftovers the next day. It’s a strange enjoyment and I certainly can’t expect one single other person on the planet to like my cold leftovers, so I pondered how I could re-purpose the mountain of pasta in our refrigerator.
I seem to remember some faceless host on Food Network baking leftover spaghetti bolognese in a springform pan and calling it “Spaghetti Pie”. I have no recollection of who it was, and when I search Food Network for said dish, I’m greeted with any variety of options. Not one to ever actually read a recipe (ironic, I know), I ran with intuition and set to figuring out my own version.
I already had the spaghetti and tomato sauce, mixed together (in great abundance, I might add). I buttered my 100 year old cast iron skillet, tossed the spaghetti with an egg and ricotta to bind, and topped with bechamel – a la Italian lasagna or moussaka. The result was a gooey, cheesy, comforting mushy casserole for which my husband was extremely grateful.
Spaghetti Pie
Comforting and wonderful, spaghetti pie feels just like a hug.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 mintues
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients
- 2 Fresh Sausage Links – Italian, Andouille, Chorizo will do
- 6-8 c Leftover Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 c Whole Milk Ricotta
- 1 c Mozzarella
- 2 c Bechamel
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400
- Remove sausage from casing and cook on medium heat. Once cooked remove and cool.
- Combine sausage, spaghetti, eggs, mozzarella and ricotta.
- Place spaghetti mixture into a greased medium casserole dish.
- Top with bechamel.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until bechamel is bubbly and golden
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into pieces.
Keywords: Spaghetti Pie, Spaghetti, Tomato Sauce, Italian American Recipes, Italian Recipes, Casserole, Spaghetti Casserole, Bechamel, Lasagna, Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce
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