Monday, May 11

Spaghetti Pie

8 servings
Total price: NY $11.93
Price per serving: NY $1.49

Spaghetti Pie
This is an adaptation of a recipe my mother used to make when I was kid, which she got off the back of a package of mozzarella cheese. The original called for jarred spaghetti sauce, butter, and hefty portions of full fat cheeses (surprising, a recipe calling for large quantities of cheese being promoted by a cheese manufacturer. . . ). I’ve updated this by adding spinach, subbing a quick homemade marinara for the jarred stuff, and taking a more restrained approach to the cheeses. (As you can tell from the pictures, its still plenty cheesy!)

Spaghetti Pie
This one’s great for kids as it ends up looking something like a deep dish pizza, and its less messy than regular spaghetti as the pieces get baked together: thus, no twirling is required and individual pieces can’t be pulled out with the fingers to be dropped on the floor, hung in the hair, or flung at the wall.

Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
  • 8 ounces spaghetti (NY $0.85)
  • 2 large eggs (NY $0.33)
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese (staple)
  • 1 tbsps plus 1 tsp olive oil (staple)
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (NY $1.69)
  • 1 small onion (NY $0.59)
  • 1 clove garlic (NY $0.50 for one head)
  • 1 tsp oregano (staple)
  • 1 tsp tomato paste (staple)*
  • 1 10 oz package frozen spinach (NY $0.99)
  • 1 15 oz container part skim ricotta (NY $3.79)
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella (NY $3.19 for 7 oz unshredded)
  • Black pepper (staple)
Spaghetti Pie
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put water on to boil. Lightly grease a 10 inch pie plate with olive oil or cooking spray and set aside.

Dice onion and mince garlic. Cook in 1 tbsp olive oil until onions are just translucent, approx. 5-8 minutes. Add diced tomatoes with their juice, along with oregano and tomato paste

Thaw spinach, then drain in colander. Place ricotta in bowl and combine with spinach by removing small clump of spinach from colander, squeezing vigorously to remove remaining moisture, and then adding to ricotta. Add a few grinds black pepper and stir to combine.

Spaghetti Pie
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti until just al dente, drain and toss in large bowl with one tsp olive oil. Whisk eggs with a fork in a small bowl with 1/3 cup shredded parmesan. Toss with spaghetti. Add spaghetti to prepared pie plate. Shape into crust shape by using fingers to flatten center (ooo, smooshy and slimy!) and press up the sides of the plate. Add spinach-ricotta mixture to indentation in center. Top with tomato sauce and bake, uncovered, 25 minutes.

Spaghetti Pie
Top with shredded mozzarella and remaining shredded parmesan. Bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, let cool 10 minutes, then slice into 8 wedges and serve.

Spaghetti Pie
* If you buy tomato paste in a tube instead of in a can, it will last almost indefinitely. So if you’re checking out and the woman behind you asks why you’re buying the tube kind, you’ll have a better answer than the LBUH who replied, “Because that’s the kind She asked for.” (Of course, the woman who asked and the checkout clerk both seemed to agree that his was, in fact, a pretty darn good answer.)

Spaghetti Pie
Nutritional Facts
Approximate values per serving
Calories 196.0Vitamin B-6 5.1 %Manganese 18.9 %
Total Fat 9.3 gVitamin C 7.2 %Niacin 3.5 %
Cholesterol 72.4 mgVitamin D 1.6 %Phosphorus 19.0 %
Sodium 238.5 mgVitamin E 3.1 %Riboflavin 14.8 %
Potassium 195.0 mgCalcium 26.5 %Selenium 28.4 %
Total Carbohydrate 16.4 gCopper 4.8 %Thiamin 6.7 %
Protein 12.3 g Folate 16.1 %Zinc 8.9 %
Vitamin A 49.3 %Iron 7.7 %
Vitamin B-12 5.8 %Magnesium 9.3 %



30 comments:

  1. Mmm, this looks like a great comfort meal. My kids would love this!

    http://www.cookincanuck.com

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  2. This looks delicious! I love the spinach in it. Great way to recreate a classic recipe!

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  3. Yum... the cheese mixture sounds pretty similar to the stuffing I did recently for some stuffed shells. Looks great!

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  4. Very nice! I will have to try this one.

    (okay, call me dumb, but what's an LBUH?)

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  5. Looks fabulous. My Mom used to make this too! I haven't had it in years. Thanks for reminding me, I'm going to make it soon.

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  6. Very cute - love the idea, as it's not something I've ever heard of before!

    http://www.laurens-kitchen.com/

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  7. Excellent! Love the look of this presentation. best, s

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  8. I love your substitutions in this recipe to make it a bit healthier and more tasty. I don't have any kids but I am sure if I did it would be a sneaky way to get some spinach in their diet!

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  9. This looks like great comfort food. We're guessing that given what's in this, you could go all the way to fat-free or very low-fat chesses and no one would notice. Anytime we've switched them out, everybody still raves about the cheese.

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  10. mmmmm......
    Mamma Mia.......
    i love Pasta :)

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  11. great meal :) it reminds me a lot of lasagna except spaghetti is involved!

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  12. My daughter would love this and we could make it together, I love the addition of the spinach. This could also make a great potluck for my church group. Thanks for sharing

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  13. My family would love this, what a nice change from normal pot of spaghetti, and anything to get the kids to eat their spinach is always good for mom!

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  14. This has me drooling onto my keyboard and it's not even breakfast time yet. Thanks!

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  15. This takes me back to my childhood - a spaghetti frittata is a classic way to use up leftover pasta! Yum!

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  16. Great photos. Next time I make spaghetti, I might have to try it in pie form.

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  17. Hmmm....I know someone who loves baked spaghetti...maybe this will be up his alley.

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  18. I love this idea but I have a kid with a BPIA allergy to eggs (what is LBUH - mine means bloody-pain-in-the-ass). I might try it without with the expectation that it might fall apart a bit... cèst la vie...

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  19. This looks too good! Actually, it would be a nice twist on Pizza Night Thursdays.

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  20. The LBUH is my Lovely But Unemployed Husband. (Him getting laid off was the inspiration for us to start this blog.)

    Lisaloo: this will definitely come apart some without the eggs, as they act as a binding agent for the pasta. The parmesan will help, but you might also try throwing some of the ricotta in with the pasta if attempting this w/out the eggs. Definitely make sure the pan is well greased if trying it that way. Good luck and sorry about the BPIAA! Perhaps s/he will outgrow it?

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  21. Wow. Definitely making everyone hungry with this.

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  22. I love making this stuff with leftover spaghetti! You're looks a sight better than mine, though. Nice work.

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  23. Yeah comfort food ..but not to nice on the waste line hehe Rico-Recipes

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  24. That looks very interesting, my dad used to make us cold spaghetti sandwiches (yeah, leftover spaghetti in wonderbread), this looks so much better!

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  25. Looks delicious! Would love some of this for dinner!

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  26. Made this the other night and Dad and I love the updated version! Very tasty and love the addition of the spinach. Keep up the good work kid. Best part is, lots of left-overs, because no longer any kids at home to eat it all up!

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  27. There you have it folks, approved by the Mother of All Recessionipes!

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  28. This was my first spaghetti pie ever and it so good! Thank you so much for sharing this.

    http://christineskitchenchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/10/spaghetti-pie.html

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  29. Thanks for this delicious spaghetti pie. I made it for dinner and it was delicious. We cleaned our plates.
    http://bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/spaghetti-pie/

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