Spaghetti Tart

Being that today is National Spaghetti Day, I figured I'd post a recipe using spaghetti.  But where do I start with this one? I had high hopes. I really did. Everything in the Adventures of an Italian Food Lover cookbook sounded wonderful. I've read countless online testimonials about how great the recipes are*. But this time, it's not just an inexperienced cook. This time, I really do think the recipe let me down.

First. Go read the ingredients. See where it calls for pine nuts? Okay now go read the instructions. See where it says to toast the pine nuts? Now keep reading. Pine nuts are never mentioned again. So if you aren't paying attention you will have some pine nuts toasted in butter that you can add to your dessert, because no where does it tell you in the recipe what to do with your nice toasted nuts.

Then there was the question of the size of the pan. Large she wrote. Well, I can tell you that the 12" pan we used was definitely not large enough for the 16 ounces of spaghetti. A word of warning to use the lesser amount of spaghetti or a larger sized pan (and what size) might have helped.

As for the rest of it...My spaghetti concoction was not dry at all. In fact it was swimming in butter. Less butter would have worked (and I didn't add any of the extra broth as suggested). And oh the comical farce of Mr. L and I trying to "turn" our spaghetti pancake. We had no "plate" that was big enough to slide it on. So we tried a baking pan that had a lip and tried to put the frying pan over it and flip. No luck. So I got out a large cookie sheet pan which worked "okay" except our "tart" wasn't compact enough to stay in one piece. I'm sure we would have made a great "Funniest Home Video" segment.

And the finished product? Um..it was basically very hard toasted spaghetti bits among some regular spaghetti. And since this didn't compact, most of the pine nuts (we figured maybe we were to throw them in with the rest of the ingredients?), the ham and capers were at the bottom of the plate. This little group of ingredients actually tasted quite good. Maybe next time I'll just cook some spaghetti and add the ingredients to it.

Anyone made a spaghetti tart and know what might have gone wrong or have a more foolproof recipe?

SPAGHETTI TART

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter or extra virgin
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons coarse sea salt
14-16 ounces spaghetti
Pinch of saffron threads
1/4 cup black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons salt-packed capers, rinsed (optional)
3/4 cup diced ham
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Gently heat 1 tablespoon butter or oil and lightly toast the pine nuts. Set aside.

Bring 5 to 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil, add 3 tablespoons salt, and add the spaghetti. Cook a few minutes less than usual, fairly al dente.

Put the saffron threads into a small cup and cover with 2 tablespoons pasta-cooking water.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Toss the pasta in a bowl with 7 tablespoons butter, the saffron and it's liquid, the olives, capers (if you like), ham, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. If the mixture seems too dry, add some of the reserved pasta-cooking water.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick skillet. Add the pasta, pressing with a spatula to make one even layer. Cook over medium heat until the pasta is crisp, the bottom lightly browned. Slip the pasta onto a plate and invert back into the skillet to cook the second side. Serve hot, cut into wedges. Serves 6 to 8.

Note: I used butter to toast the pine nuts, and added the salt-packed capers.

Note: I used saffron threads from the little bottle you can get at Trader Joes (not so expensive as most).

So disappointed in the results of this recipe. I'm now craving a good spaghetti tart! And yes, this pitiful photo is what our meal ended up looking like. I really did try to cut it in wedges.

*Doing further research I've found others that have issues with missing ingredients or directions in the recipes :(

Comments

[noble pig]

Hmmm, never made one so I have no point of reference!!

[MOM]

You guys sound so funny. I hope Mr. L took some video. How did it taste?

[Deborah]

Now I wish I would have made spaghetti for dinner! I've never had a spaghetti tart, but this sounds interesting!

[Mrs. L]

Noble - Some out there has to have tried this right?

Mom - It tasted fine but I'd rather just have plain noodles...much less trouble to make.

Deborah - I'm actually still craving just a good plate of spaghetti with a nice meat sauce.

[Carolyn Jung]

I think I may have seen some recipes for something similar that had a beaten egg or two in them. I think that might help bind the ingredients better so that all the nuts and capers don't end up in a pile on the bottom.

[Louise]

I did something similar with similar results. How could it possibly go bad? Pasta is reliable, and pan frying always helps with texture and flavor. But in this dish, sadly I shared your experience.

[Mrs. L]

Carolyn - Yes, a beaten egg would probably have helped! I'll have to be on the lookout for a Spaghetti Tart recipe that includes that in the ingredients.

Louise - Glad to see I'm not the only one who had troubles with something like this.

[andrea]

I think Giada has a spaghetti pie recipe with eggs and veggies...

[carolina]

Love this idea! Pasta bakes are a great way to use up leftover pasta. I have another one--a carbonara frittata--on my list of the best five easy pasta recipes. Check it out if you like and let me know what you think! As for me, I'll be trying this one out the next time I have leftover spaghetti lying around...

http://www.best5everything.com/best5ListPages/quickcheapuniquepastarecipes52128.php