Fettucini Pie

Football is back and so is the need for comfort food! This one fits the bill and is an easy use of ingredients you have in your pantry and fresh market finds. We picked up fresh made pasta from the Bombolini stand this past Saturday and Roasted Red Pepper Flake and Parmesan bread from The Norwood Cottage, both of which are the stars in this week’s dish, Fettuccini Pie. Here’s how I put it together:

1 bundle Bombolini Roasted Red Pepper Fettucini noodles*
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
½ medium white onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 package frozen spinach
10 eggs
3 tbsp whole milk
1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 thick cut slice (about 2”) slice of Norwood Cottage Red Pepper Flake and Parmesan bread, cubed*
2 tbsp parmesan/asiago/reggiano blend
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400° and start by slightly cooking the pasta. Since it’s fresh it should only take a little over 1 minute in salted boiling water. Be sure to not overcook since it will be baked in the oven also. While the water is coming up to a boil for the pasta, heat the olive oil and butter in a cast iron skillet or one that can be transferred to the oven. Add the onion and garlic to the skillet to sauté until translucent (it helps to add the garlic a little later than the onion because it can burn easily). If using frozen spinach like I did, defrost in the microwave, and drain in a clean kitchen towel by adding to the center of the towel, folding over and twisting until all the liquid runs out. Add to skillet and stir into the onion garlic mixture. If using fresh, add right into skillet and let wilt down.

In a mixing bowl, lightly beat 10 eggs with 3 tbsp whole milk, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of fresh ground black pepper. Add in 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and the drained pasta. Mix together until all noodles are coated. Transfer to the skillet and toss the mixture together with the spinach, onion and garlic until equally distributed.

Top with the cubed bread and the remaining blended, shredded cheese. Cover with foil to bake for the first 15 minutes and then remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the center is set but still moist. Let set for 5 minutes before slicing.

The bread will give it a little extra zing and crunch when baked on top and the ‘pie’ resembles a fresh frittata with a great texture added from the pasta. We served it up alongside a grilled sausage we’d purchased on a previous Farmer’s Market visit and a salad but it is hearty enough to be served on its own while watching a good ole football game, of course!

*For those of you not in the area, a prepackaged fettucini noodle (cooked as instructed for al denté) and a store bought french bread can be used as a substitute. I would also add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the egg mixture to get it a little heat.

Eat, Pray...Love - well, at least the food

So a few of us went to see Eat, Pray, Love last night and I have to say it wasn't my favorite. But then again, neither was the book so why did I think the movie would be better? Maybe that old saying, 'the movie's never as good as the book' was stuck in my head and by hope of reverse interpretation, I thought the movie had to be better. I thought by some divine producing intervention, I would enjoy the story more as it was acted out before my very eyes. And to be honest, the story wasn't the issue. But I digress.

The point of me sharing this is to talk about the food. That's the one part of the story I firmly support and believe...Italy is meant to be experienced through the food. To see antipasti plated in front of some lucky patron is to be inspired to serve something simply and tastefully using a few good ingredients from the environment by which you are surrounded. Maybe I was hungry going in but I found myself daydreaming during the Rome scenes of a day where they have smell-a-movie or cinema scent-sations. We could have all been in Rome last night if they had opened the vents and pumped in the smells from the trattoria...basil, olive oil, ragu, espresso....I can almost taste it.


So, tonight's dinner will have an Italian theme for sure. It won't be as delicious as the meal we had from Trattoria der Pallaro last fall while in Rome but I just can't take it anymore...I need a heavy dose of carbs and vat of vino.