Spaghetti Pie

Photo courtesy of Sargento.com

Do you sometimes feel like cooking a different pasta dish as an alternative to the same old spaghetti and sauce?

Do you want a really eye-catching, but easy, dish to bring to the holiday pot-luck?

Here it is - not only does it look impressive, it tastes like it too.  Your guests, your colleagues, your family and your kids (large and small) will love this!

Change it up by adding a layer of spinach or other green vegetable under the layer of ricotta or serve with a side steamed broccoli or green beans.

Meatless Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:

6 oz whole wheat (or fiber-enriched white) spaghetti (3 C Cooked)

2 large eggs

1 1/2 TBSP olive oil

salt to taste

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 C part-skim ricotta cheese

12 or 15 leaves of fresh basil - shredded (roll up like a cigar and slice into strips)

1 C pasta sauce (any type, bottled or home-made)

1 C 2% milk-fat mozzarella cheese

1/3 C shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the pack, drain and rinse in cold water to cool.  Dry with paper towels.  Preheat the oven to 350 deg.

Beat the eggs, olive oil, salt and cayenne pepper and toss in the spaghetti.  Pour into a 10" greased (sprayed with Pam) pie plate and press around the sides to form an even crust.

Spoon the ricotta cheese a little at a time and smooth down, top with the shredded basil, the sauce and cheeses and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.  Cool for 10 or 12 minutes to "set" before cutting.

Serves 6

PPV per serving 8

Notes:

If you make it the day before, go ahead and put the pie together, but leave off the cheese until you are ready to cook it.  If you don't have time to bring it to room temp before cooking, start it at 325 deg for 15 minutes, then turn it up to 350 deg for 20 minutes.

It doesn't make any difference to the PPV, but you could reduce the fat content (and therefore overall calories) by switching out the 2% milk-fat mozzarella with fat free.  Spray with a quick spritz of Pam or olive oil spray to aid melting.

This one is from my oven!

Come back to the blog on Sunday for my next post!