Froga tat-Tarja - Maltese Pasta Frittata with spicy Green Pesto
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend told my about this Maltese classic from his childhood days: Froga tat-Tarja, a golden pan fried pasta omelette. This is the essence of Southern comfort food, it works all year round, but I mixed in some spicy green pesto which gave it a fresh spring feel. I must admit that my initial plan was to go for basil pesto but my little Mediterranean kitchen plant looked too sad. I can see it trying so hard (and hopelessly) to grow more leaves so I couldn't bring myself to rip it up and leave it naked with only some slim stalks stuck into the soil.
I also had some rucola left and could have easily turned that into an aromatic pesto but you can imagine what happened next, ramp came to mind as always at this time of year and all other green pesto options were kicked out in a split second. It's garlicky spiciness combined with its really short season make it simply irresistible to me. So if you have any green pesto, some eggs and leftover pasta lying around in your kitchen, whisk it together, throw it in a pan like a pancake and fry until golden brown. Wonderfully easy comfort cooking, thanks to the leftovers!
Froga tat-Tarja - Maltese Pasta Frittata with spicy Green Pesto
For 1-2 people you need
leftover spaghetti or capelli di angelo, cold, 120g / 4 1/4oz
organic eggs, beaten, 2
ramp pesto, or any other green pesto, 1 heaping tablespoon plus more for the topping (recipe here)
salt 1/2 teaspoon
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, to taste
Parmesan, grated, for the topping
olive oil
Whisk the eggs, salt, pepper and pesto and mix with the pasta. Heat a splash of olive oil in a small pan (21cm / 8") and fry the egg pasta like an omelette until golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle with Parmesan and a little more pesto, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
