From Alex Province: You know how it is… we were at a favorite restaurant, too satisfied to finish our meal, so we took home half the pasta Bolognese, fully intending to devour it the next day. That didn’t happen, and with each passing day in the fridge, our leftovers became less and less enticing. Finally, we reached that tipping point — to throw it out or save it? We decided to try breathing new life into it; you can do this with pasta leftovers, too.
Start by sauteing on a medium burner some chopped shallots (or onion) and minced garlic in a little olive oil. As soon as they become soft, add a little jarred pasta sauce and the leftover restaurant pasta. Once it seems to be reheated, pour the mixture into a glass or ceramic baking dish and set it aside. In a food processor, pulse a stale piece of sandwich bread or a chunk of baguette until the bread crumbs are fine. Add a little grated Parmesan cheese, flat leaf parsley, (or other herbs), salt, pepper, and pulse for a few seconds more. Top the pasta in the baking dish with a thin layer of the breadcrumb mixture. Now for the indulgent part… to make sure the pasta stays juicy in the oven, add a good drizzle of olive oil and a few tablespoons of cream on top of the breadcrumbs. Bake the dish in a 350 degree oven until it’s hot, bubbly and golden brown (about 30 minutes.)
