Frittata of spaghetti

Preheat the oven to 180°C conventional oven/ 160°C fan-forced (350° Fahrenheit/Gas 4). Grease a round pie dish with butter (alternatively, line a baking dish with baking paper).

Place a large pot with water on high heat and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti pasta and a pinch of salt to the boiling water and cook until ‘al dente’ – refer to the cooking time specified in pasta packet instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving 100ml of the pasta cooking water.

To make the Basic tomato sauce, place the olive oil in a heavy-based stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the San Marzano canned tomatoes and reserved pasta cooking water. Bring to the boil, then add the basil, a pinch of salt and the sugar. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce has reduced to your required consistency, stirring occasionally so that the sauce does not stick to the pot and burn. Remove from the heat.

Pour the tomato mixture into a large bowl. Use a “passatutto” (food mill) to strain the sauce (including basil) back into the heavy-based stockpot. Alternatively use a coarse sieve, using the back of a ladle to push larger chunks of tomato through. Place the stockpot with strained tomato sauce back onto medium heat. Add the spaghetti pasta and toss well over the heat for 1 minute to soak up lovely flavour, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Use a fork to whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the milk, olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano. Season well salt and pepper.

Arrange the tomato sauce coated spaghetti on the base of the pie dish. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the spaghetti. Bake the frittata for 25 minutes.

Allow the frittata of spaghetti to cool for a minimum of 5 minutes before serving. It is also delicious at room temperature – buon appetito.