I love the taste of burnt cheese. Maybe not burnt, but you know when you're making an egg sandwich and you put the cheese on at the end and some spills off the egg onto the hot pan and turns brown and crispy? Is that not the best? That's what this pizzaghetti reminds me of because you mix those yummy cheeses in and they hit that hot skillet and happiness abounds.
And to note the name of this dish because you might be wondering where the heck it came from: there was a period of several months in which Jake and I would ask Lily what she wanted for dinner and she would respond with "pizzaghetti" as though we would have ANY idea what she was talking about. She loves pizza and loves spaghetti, so I guess she was just combining the two? Then my coworker, Chris, told me about how she takes leftover spaghetti and cooks it in a pan to give it a crust, mixes in things like olives and peppers, and then slides it out and cut and eats it in slices (with a fork... it's not that solid). Sounds like pizzaghetti to me! I immediately felt like this was the answer to Lily's demands, and luckily, it tastes as delicious as Chris promised.
Here's Lily exploring the food (she approved):
4 Cheese Pizzaghetti
~ 4 - 5 cups leftover cooked pasta (or you can always cook it fresh if you want) 3/4 cup marinara sauce, plus more for topping Salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian herbs, as necessary (depending on how much flavor is in your marinara sauce) 1 cup ricotta cheese 1 egg 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (vegetarian parmesan if you are vegetarian) Other toppings that you enjoy, such as black olives, peppers, onions, etc. Thinly sliced provolone cheese
Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Combine the pasta, sauce, ricotta, egg, mozzarella, parmesan, and toppings in a large bowl. Spread in an even layer on the skillet and let cook for about 5-7 minutes until the bottom is crispy brown. Invert a plate over the pasta and flip the pasta onto the plate. Slide the pasta back into the skillet uncooked side down, and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the bottom is crispy and brown. While the bottom half is cooking, cover the already cooked top half with the slices of provolone and let it melt and bubble.
When it is done cooking, slide onto a plate and slice like a pizza. Put some leftover marinara on top and serve warm.
Source: inspired by my friend, Chris, from work :)
