Pasta frittatas are main courses finger food that are delicious, rich, and perfect for using leftovers from previous preparations or simply what we have available in the pantry and fridge, just like this delightful pasta frittata with peas. It is, in fact, a unique dish made with what I had available; very easy, colorful, fragrant. It can also be personalized with other ingredients, and it is very practical as it can be eaten with hands both warm and cold at home, on the beach, or for a picnic.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 4.4 oz ridged short pasta (also gluten-free)
- 2 medium whole eggs
- 1/2 cup cold milk (also lactose-free)
- 5.3 oz boiled peas
- to taste coarse salt for pasta
- to taste fine salt
- 1 pinch ground turmeric
- to taste ground pepper
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (for the egg mixture)
Steps
For this preparation, we can use canned peas, fresh peas, and frozen peas; the latter two should be blanched first.
Heat the water for cooking the pasta. I used ridged penne, but you can use any type of short pasta you like best.
As soon as the water boils, add the pasta, stir, and cover, waiting for the water to return to a boil so it can be salted with coarse salt (according to our taste, but without exaggerating, as the egg mixture will also contain a pinch of salt and the Pecorino, which is already salty in itself); let it cook very al dente and then drain it perfectly.
Now let’s prepare the seasoning. In a large bowl, beat the two eggs with the milk, fine salt, pepper, turmeric (or another spice of your choice), Pecorino, and a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Also add the pasta, the peas (already perfectly drained from any cooking or preserving liquid), and mix very well to ensure the egg mixture is distributed evenly.
Place a pan with an 8.66-inch diameter on the smallest burner with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and let it heat over low flame.
As soon as the oil is hot, add the pasta mixed with the eggs, level it, increase the flame a bit, and let it cook until the bottom part is very golden.
Using kitchen gloves and potholders, flip the frittata, being very, very careful that there are no still-liquid, hot raw egg residues on the surface and oil; in these cases, lower the flame and wait for it to cook on the surface as well.
Flip the frittata using a well-oiled plate that fits perfectly into the pan. Slide the pasta frittata with peas back into the pan, thus cooking the side that was previously on top, i.e., facing us. In total, the pasta frittata should cook for about ten minutes on each side.
The extra idea. This same recipe can be made with gluten-free ingredients, achieving an equally excellent and tasty result.
Bon appetit
