By Ippolita Douglas Scotti:
Frittata di maccheroni is a poor and humble Neapolitan dish, very popular in southern Italy—and very cheap to make! It is a fried pasta dish you can make with leftovers or fresh ingredients, and it is always delicious. Even though the ingredients are modest, the flavors are fit for a king’s table!
Maccheroni in Italy are a short kind of pasta from Naples, but for this recipe, maccheroni can be any kind of pasta—long like spaghetti or vermicelli or short like penne. I suggest using long pasta because it makes the final dish into a cake shape. The spaghetti are perfect to give the right crispy texture to the dish.
The eggs make the thick texture of this pasta, making frittata di maccheroni the perfect dish for picnics on the beach!
Frittata di maccheroni is fantastic warm, but it's also good cold. You can make this dish with leftovers of spaghetti with tomato sauce or ragù. This is the recipe I suggest, but you can make it with your favorite sauce—it is always delicious!
This recipe is full of my favorite childhood memories. As a child, during summer my grandmother made frittata di maccheroni with leftovers from the day before, simply mixing pasta with eggs and frying it in a pan until golden brown. So good! This version is with cheese and ham. It's easy, crispy, and delicious, just as my grandma used to cook for me.
Frettata di Maccheroni
5 eggs 1 lb. (1/2 kilo) pasta – spaghetti, linguine, vermicelli 5 oz. (150 grams) grated cheese – Parmigiano and Pecorino Mix 45 slices of Mozzarella Fior di latte 4 oz. (100 grams) Prosciutto Cotto (Italian cooked ham) Salt and pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cook the pasta al dente and drain—or use leftover pasta. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with grated cheese, salt, and pepper. Add pasta to the egg and cheese mixture and mix thoroughly.
Generously coat a large frying pan with oil. Heat the oil until it just starts to sizzle over medium heat. Layer half the pasta into the frying pan. Top with the prosciutto cotto and mozzarella.
Layer the remaining pasta on top. Cook until the bottom is golden brown.
Cover the pan with a lid and remove from the heat. Drain the oil and flip the frittata onto the lid.
Gently slide the frittata back into the pan. Cook the other side of the frittata until golden brown.
Slice and serve.
Contessa Ippolita Douglas Scotti di Vigileno is a true Italian—born in Florence, Italy, from a long line of eccentric Italian aristocrats, she has traveled the world in search of adventure, romance, and magical, mouth-watering recipes. "Ippo" loves Italian history, especially as it relates to food. Author of There's a Beatle in My Soup, Curcuma e Zenzero (Ginger & Tumeric), 101 Perche Sulla Storia di Firenze (101 questions on Florence History), and Superfoods, Ippo is currently finishing her latest work, The Lords of Florence (all published by Newton Compton Publishers).