Spaghetti Pie — The Recipe That Fed Seventy-Three Kids (And One Boy Five Times)

Wedding countdown. Twelve days. I have my outfit — a dusty rose dress with a matching jacket that Denise helped me pick out at the Tanger Outlets, and a hat that is borderline excessive but this is my grandson's wedding and I will wear whatever hat I please. Earl has a suit. The same suit he's worn to every formal event since 2005. It still fits because the man has not gained or lost a pound in twelve years, which is either a testament to my cooking or to his stubbornness, and it's probably both.

I've been talking to Gloria — Tasha's mama — twice a week now. She's planning the rehearsal dinner and she asked if I'd make my sweet potato pie for the dessert table. I said, "Gloria, I would be honored." She said, "And I'll bring my potato salad." I said, "Bring it." The potato salad showdown is happening. I have been perfecting my recipe all week. Extra mustard. Extra eggs. A little pickle relish that I will deny under oath. This is not petty competition. This is the merging of two families, negotiated through side dishes.

The summer program kids are settling in. Seventy kids on Tuesday, seventy-three on Wednesday. I made spaghetti and meat sauce on Tuesday — from scratch, with the canned tomatoes I put up last August — and the kids ate like they hadn't seen pasta in their lives. One boy asked for a fourth serving. I gave him a fifth. If a child asks for food in my kitchen, the answer is always yes. Always. I don't care about the budget. I don't care about the portions chart on the wall. A hungry child gets fed. That is the beginning and the end of my food philosophy.

Kayla finished her junior year. She's home for the summer, working at the free clinic downtown instead of the Piggly Wiggly — real nursing work this time, not scanning groceries. She comes home tired but lit up, the way people look when they're doing what they were made to do. She told me about a patient this week — an elderly man who came in with chest pain and didn't have insurance — and how she took his vitals and held his hand while they waited for the doctor, and how he said, "Thank you, young lady." She said, "Grandma, he reminded me of Granddaddy." I said, "Then you were exactly where you needed to be."

Now go on and feed somebody.

The spaghetti I made on Tuesday — from the canned tomatoes I put up last August, cooked low and slow until the sauce was deep and serious — is the same spirit that lives in this spaghetti pie. When you’re feeding a roomful of children who eat like they have somewhere important to be, you need something that holds together, fills plates fast, and tastes like somebody meant it. This recipe does all three. I’ve brought it home, sliced it up, and let it prove what I already know: a good meat sauce and a little intention go a long way.

Spaghetti Pie

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 12 oz spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a deep 10-inch pie dish or a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. Cook the pasta. Boil spaghetti in well-salted water until just al dente, 1 to 2 minutes less than the package directs. Drain and return to the pot.
3. Build the crust. While the spaghetti is still hot, stir in the butter, Parmesan, and beaten eggs until evenly coated. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared dish to form a crust. Set aside.
4. Brown the meat. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 6 to 7 minutes. Drain off excess fat.
5. Build the sauce. Add the onion and green pepper to the skillet with the beef and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and deepens in color.
6. Layer the filling. Spread the cottage cheese (or ricotta) evenly over the spaghetti crust. Spoon the meat sauce over the top in an even layer.
7. Add the cheese. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over the meat sauce. Add a little extra Parmesan if you like.
8. Bake. Place in the preheated oven and bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and lightly golden at the edges.
9. Rest and slice. Let the pie rest for 10 minutes before cutting — this is not a step to skip if you want clean slices. Cut into wedges or squares and serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 610mg