Who invented the pasta omelette?

The spaghetti omelette (or “macaroni omelette”) – in Italy known as frittata di pasta, is a typical preparation of Campania cuisine and in particular, Neapolitan cuisine. Where it represents an inevitable presence in the picnic basket during trips out of town. This is a “recovery” recipe that allows you to not waste leftover pasta by transforming it into a delicious single dish, simply by adding beaten eggs, cheese and other ingredients to taste, cooked as you would for a traditional omelette. The result is a golden disc, with a delicious crunchy crust on the surface, served by cutting it into slices. Preparing it is very simple (much more so than preparing an omelette!): all you need is a little generosity with the oil and a minimum of skill with pans and lids! But it’s worth practicing!

How to recycle tomato pasta?

Recycling leftover pasta is the right thing to do from every point of view: wasting food is really wrong! Do you have any idea how many good recipes can be made with leftover pasta? Because, tell the truth, how many times have you thrown away a plate (or even more) of pasta? A real shame if you think about the waste of food and the effort involved in cooking it.

Here are five ideas:

1. Spaghetti Frittata
2. Pasta pizza: to prepare it, take the leftover pasta and add it to the grated parmesan, pepper and basil. Then pour into a pan with a little oil, level the mixture giving it a round shape and season the surface with slices of mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, olives and anchovies. Finally, cook in the oven at 200 degrees for about ten minutes.
3. Leftover pasta can also become the perfect filling for a savory pie, add vegetables such as courgettes, ribs, potatoes and stringy cheeses such as provola, fontina or tofu.
4. Pasta timballo
5. Pasta croquettes

How to make an omelette without breaking it?

Three ways to flip the omelette:

1. Use a dustpan

The first method, the most suitable for thin and light omelettes that are not too rich in ingredients, simply requires using a flat paddle. After checking that the omelette has one side well cooked and that it comes away easily from the pan, with a quick and precise movement you lift it just enough to flip it over. After a little practice, you should be able to do it without problems.

2. Use a lid or plate

The second method, useful when the omelette is a little more fragile, for example because it is rich in ingredients or very thick and heavy, involves using a lid or, alternatively, a flat plate of the right size. When turning the omelette, use one hand to hold the lid or plate firmly on the pan and the other to hold the handle to flip it over. Having inverted the omelette onto the plate (or lid) in this way, all that remains is to slide it back into the pan to finish cooking the second side.

3. Blow it up: turn the omelette and toss it!

The third method requires good technique and can be a bit risky for those who are inexperienced, but nothing stops you from trying, which is also the only way to learn how to juggle. First, as always, check that the omelette is ready to detach easily from the bottom of the pan, after which, holding the handle with rapid and decisive movements, push the pan forward and then backwards and consequently the omelette upwards, to make it flip over as it jumps and lands back in place, ready to be cooked on the other side.

How do you make a leftover spaghetti omelette?

The best-known version of this dish is the Neapolitan pasta omelette, in which ragù is also added to the spaghetti. But the idea is applicable to any type of leftover pasta, as long as it has been well stored in the fridge previously.

You can prepare this omelette with macaroni or spaghetti, and even with rice. And if you don’t feel like frying you can also cook it in the oven. Obviously it is delicious with plain pasta, drained, unseasoned and set aside.

You can add many variations to the basic recipe for leftover pasta omelette: cubes of crispy bacon and smoked scamorza, ham and peas, ragù. As with all anti-waste recipes, what’s in the fridge is fine and you don’t know how to “get it out”, just like for meatballs!

The recipe for the leftover pasta omelette that we propose is a super basic version, to be customized to taste depending on what you have on hand. The doses are also at your discretion. Like all anti-waste recipes, it takes a bit of ingenuity.

If you want to bake it:

To make baked pasta omelettes you don’t need oil. Simply pour the mixture onto a baking tray covered with baking paper.

The cooking time is approximately 15 minutes at 180 degrees in a fan oven. But the surefire way to tell if it’s ready is when you start to smell the scent. At that point, open the door: if the omelette is nice and golden on the surface, it means it is ready.

How to save the omelette for the next day?

Generally speaking, a simple egg and parsley omelette can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, after which it would be best to consume it. For optimal conservation, we recommend placing it inside an airtight container, or sealing the dish with transparent film, so as to isolate it from the rest of the ingredients in the refrigerator.

If you have prepared an omelette particularly rich in seasonings, also using easily perishable ingredients such as seafood and watery vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, it is preferable to keep it in the fridge for a maximum of one day.

How do you make a deep omelette?

To make a deep omelette you need to use a lot of eggs. It seems like obvious advice, but it isn’t.

Alternatively, make an omelette in a very small pan.

Once you have established the quantity of eggs, considering that the portion per person for an omelette is 2 eggs, decide whether you want a normally soft omelette, but not too thick, or a compact and thick omelette.

To make a deep omelette, proceed as if you were making scrambled eggs. At the beginning, mix everything a little on the heat and gradually, as the eggs take on consistency, let them compact again. Then, once the right thickness has been created at the base, let them cook for a couple of minutes, always turning with the help of a lid.

This procedure will give you a deep and well-cooked omelette, although you may have some problems flipping it, especially if the pan is large, since the eggs have been mixed. But we invite you to try because the result is excellent.

Another solution for obtaining a deep omelette is cooking in the oven, always with lots of eggs, or with a pan that is not too large. Cooking in the oven will make the omelette drier and taller and you will not risk breaking it because it will not be necessary to turn it.

It cooks in about 10 minutes at 180°C and the thickness can be about 4-5 cm.

You can also enrich it with ricotta for a result similar to a rich, very tasty pie that can be cut into cubes.

Pasta omelette: the Pasta Class Florence recipe

The spaghetti omelette, also generically called pasta omelette, is a delicacy of Neapolitan cuisine, usually created with leftovers: pasta from the night before, a little cheese, what you find in the refrigerator and a pinch of imagination. An easy and irresistible recipe.

Ingredients

• 320 g of spaghetti
• 4 eggs
• 100 g of scamorza
• 60 g of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 100 g of diced salami
• extra virgin olive oil
• black pepper
• salt

Method

• To make the spaghetti omelette, start by cooking the spaghetti. Bring the water to a boil in the pan, add salt to taste and cook the spaghetti, draining them al dente, as they will complete the cooking in the pan. Separately, beat the eggs with a pinch of salt.
• Add the spaghetti, after being left to cool, completely to the beaten eggs. Add pepper, then mix.
• Also add the grated parmesan and scamorza, continuing to mix. Bring a non-stick pan to temperature with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pour in the mixture, trying to distribute it evenly. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes.
• Next, turn the omelette with the help of a lid and complete the cooking, it should take another 10 minutes. Finally, serve the spaghetti omelette after letting it settle for a few minutes.