Spaghetti Pizza

Whatever happened to Shakey’s Pizza? It just occured to me as I am typing this (my powers of observation have never been exemplary) that I haven’t seen one in ages when a few years ago they used to dot almost every street corner. A quick googling revealed to me that there are now only 65 or so left of the 350+ Shakey’s Pizza locations. Shakey’s was a dominant go-to joint when I was a college student in Manila in the late 1980’s. I remember guzzling pitchers of beer while enjoying the live band with my barkadas (filipino term for “group of friends”) up to 3 AM in the morning! Yes mother, I admit. This was why I always called you long distance every week asking for more allowance. I swear I wanted to stay up all night locked in my dormitory studying for my exams but the call of Shakey’s spaghetti, fried chicken, mojo potatoes and hawaiian-style pizzas was simply too hard to resist. And that cute date (can’t remember his name now) to share it all with made it far more difficult to choose books.

This spaghetti pizza recipe is another pasta dish from my friend Benny’s kitchen repertoire. I believe this was taught to her by her boyfriend’s sister’s husband, Joe. Taking traits from both spaghetti and pizza, expect it to be a sure-fire hit with kids and kids-at-heart alike!

Makes 8 Servings

8 oz spaghetti (4 cups cooked)
1 1/2 cups cooked italian sausage, ground
3 cups pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce can be substituted)
6 to 8 slices pepperoni
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsps green pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsps red pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsps black olives, sliced
1/4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
olive oil

Cook spaghetti noodles aldente, following package directions. Drain and set aside in a mixing bowl.
Remove casing from italian sausages. With a knife, mince sausages to ground texture.

In a skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onions until softened, around 1 to 2 minutes.
Add in and saute italian sausages until browned, breaking and separating to small pieces with back of spoon. Remove from heat. Drain and discard any accumulated juices.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Pour egg mixture onto spaghetti noodles. Mix well making sure noodles are fully coated.

Lighty grease bottom and sides of a flat baking dish with olive oil. Place and press noodles tightly onto bottom of baking dish. Spread crumbled italian sausage evenly on top of noodles.
Spoon sauce on top of meat. Layer pepperoni, mushrooms, olives and peppers on sauce.
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375 F for around 35 to 40 minutes, removing foil at the last 5 minutes of baking to allow cheese to brown very lightly. Remove and let stand for around 5 minutes before cutting to squares.

TIPS:
1) Experiment with your choices of toppings and add-ons! Think pizza with a “noodle crust”.
2) There is also a delicious spaghetti with creme fraiche and smoked salmon recipe in the archive that is sure to please!

 

Pasta Recipes in the Archive:

Chicken Noodle Soup

 

Angel Hair Pasta with Pomodoro Sauce