Leftovers cooking class in Tuscany pasticcio di pasta (pasta pie) with ragu

Leftovers cooking class! Or what you can cook easily just opening your fridge and taking what you see.

Today here’s a classic of the Italian families Cuisine: Pasticcio di Pasta (Pasta pie).

You can’t find it to the restaurants, and maybe you don’t find in many “young” families, but for sure you can taste it where people love cooking and preparing the meal from scratch.

When peeking in my kitchen, my friend’s comment, is always the same: “OMG, there are more tools here than in a fully equipped restaurant kitchen”. Tell you the truth, not only do I love cooking, but I’m also a serial shopper of tools for the kitchen. Well, I need a lot of things because of my job. I’m a cooking classes coach and a private chef in Tuscany. So, in view of the Summer cooking classes in Tuscany in various resorts, cottages, villas, etc. I’m fond of all those tools that will make life easier.

And let’s face it, sometimes I can even buy such real “foolish stuff”.
Last night, while I was doing a tour at my favorite home-store, I stopped the gaze on something that I never imagined existed, a circle of steel with holes: stuff to drain the cans. Come on… I didn’t buy it! Just for a moment, the clarity of mind got the upper hand and I have not stuck it to my hands.

Leftovers cooking class in Tuscany

Going back to my kitchen, my fridge has to be ready for cooking classes and private dinners. That’s why as you can imagine, there’s a mountain of food of all kinds, from the typical Tuscan ingredient to the most sought one of Fusion cooking. And ‘is therefore logical that often needs to hurry to cook with what saved.
How many times I have to cook with leftovers? At least 3 or 4 per week. And when leftovers are able to create a mouth-watering dish well, then the satisfaction is really great. Double your savings and the belly and the heart will benefit.

The idea to run leftovers cooking class in Tuscany had a great success and many customers ask for this Pasticcio di Pasta (Pasta Pie) with Ragu sauce.
Furthermore, the today dish is my daughter’s Ginevra (Ginny) favorite. It is a shocking easy preparation, between the omelet and a pie, but I wonder why, if it wasn’t my grandmother who taught me, I would never have discovered it.

I do not prepare it only when I have remaining pasta with Ragu Sauce (which, however, is never so good when is warmed), but just because I want to kill two birds with one stone. In fact, when I make pasta with meat sauce, I always put down about twice that one we’ll eat, so the next day, I will have this great dish simple, fast and tasty!

Suggestion: you can make it with many different types of pasta, no matter the difference in cooking time.

This is the beauty of leftover food, and I can guarantee that you won’t notice the difference.

Pasticcio di Pasta al Ragu (Pasta Pie with Meat Sauce)

Recipe by Erika Elia

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

400g short pasta (penne, fusilli)
400g meat sauce
5 eggs
4 spoons extra virgin olive oil
4 spoons Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 pinches black pepper
2 pinches salt

Cooking Directions

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the cheese, salt, and pepper.
Add the seasoned pasta with meat sauce and mix well.
In a large pan heat the oil over medium heat and pour in the egg mixture and pasta which should be about 3 cm high. Compressing gently with a spoon so that the pasta is well crushed.
Wait about 4 or 5 minutes until the dough becomes crispy on the bottom.
At this point there is the most difficult step: turn the pie upside down as you do with an omelet (I use a large pot lid).
Cook in the pan the other side for a few minutes (about 4) and unmold the pie on a beautiful wide tray.

Buon Appetito!

Salva