a plate of fried pastaMaking the Most of Leftover Past

By Roy Creekmore


Most cooks intuitively know to add sauce or vegetables to leftover pasta to transform it into something new and delicious. Many cooks do something else to it, too: They fry it.

If you find yourself with oodles of extra pasta, consider this recipe. I particularly like the flavors of spinach, bacon and feta, and the sun-dried tomatoes add texture and zest. You can use any ingredient--raisins, cheeses, pine nuts, tuna, mushrooms, chard, kale, salami or proscuitto--that you like, and practically any variety of pasta will work well.

Served with a simple salad, fried pasta makes a great late supper or light lunch. As a main dish, it serves four with a salad; as a side dish with a more substantial main course, it serves six.

Fried Pasta

4 ounces cooked fettuccini (or your favorite pasta)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4-cup cooked, chopped spinach (squeeze out excess moisture)
2 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low to medium heat. Spread half of the cooked pasta evenly into the skillet. Use a spatula to press down the mixture. Sprinkle, in order, the spinach, bacon, sundried tomatoes and feta cheese, pressing lightly with the spatula after adding each ingredient. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top the compressed mixture with the remaining pasta, and press down lightly with the spatula, further compressing the ingredients.

Cook the pasta until it is golden brown. When the pasta is evenly golden on the bottom, gently turn it over. (For easy flipping, put a plate on top of the skillet and hold it in place while turning the skillet upside down, letting the pasta drop onto the plate.) Return the skillet to the heat, add a tablespoon of the reserved olive oil and return the inverted pasta mass back to the skillet.

Gently fry this side until it, too, is as golden as the top, adding more olive oil as needed. Slide the fried pasta onto a plate, and cut the pasta into pie-shaped wedges. Serve it warm or at room temperature.