📋 Homemade Spaghetti Nests - Nidi di Spaghetti

A surprisingly delightful dish, these baked spaghetti nests offer a unique twist on classic pasta, perfect to celebrate Easter.

Course Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Keyword baked spaghetti, Pasta nests, spaghetti muffins

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 10

Servings nests

Calories 216kcal

Stir for 1 or 2 minutes the flour and the butter in a pan over low heat with a wooden spoon to create a white roux.
Remove from the heat and gradually add the warm milk making sure no lumps are formed.
Put back on the heat and bring to boil stirring constantly.
Lower the heat and keep stirring, until it thickens.
Add salt and nutmeg at the end.

Gently remove any earth from the mushrooms using a vegetable brush.
Briefly rinse under cold water to remove any remaining dirt.
Slice into chuncks.
Melt butter in a skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Add a clove of garlic to the butter and sauté briefly until fragrant (about 1 minute).
Remove and discard the garlic clove from the pan. This flavors the butter without adding a strong garlic taste to the mushrooms.
Add the prepared porcini mushrooms to the garlic-infused butter in the pan.
Stir-fry over medium heat until the mushrooms soften and become tender.
Season the stir-fried porcini with salt to taste.

Separately boil peas and carrot chunks in salted water until tender
Drain the peas and carrots thoroughly
Mash a cup of the cooked peas, setting the rest aside
and carrots separately
Stir in one tablespoon of béchamel sauce and a spoonful of parmesan cheese into each.
Mix well to combine.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
If using fresh spaghetti, carefully place it into the boiling water and cook for only 2 minutes.
Drain the spaghetti immediately after 2 minutes in a colander.
Return the drained spaghetti to the pot and toss with a knob of butter to prevent sticking.

In a large bowl, combine the buttered spaghetti with the béchamel sauce, the pre-boiled peas (set aside earlier), the stir-fried porcini mushrooms, and the parmesan cheese.
Mix all the ingredients together very well, ensuring that the béchamel sauce is evenly distributed throughout the spaghetti and that the peas and porcini mushrooms are well incorporated.

Using a fork, collect a generous amount of the spaghetti mixture.
As you lift the spaghetti, twist it with the fork to create a nest shape.
Ensure that each forkful captures a good mix of spaghetti, porcini bites, and peas.
Carefully place the twisted spaghetti into the silicon cups.
Gently press down in the center of the spaghetti nest to create a hollow shape.
This hollow will be where you place the egg or mozzarella later.

Grease a large round baking tin with butter and coat it evenly with semolina flour. This will prevent sticking and give the nest a slightly crispy bottom.
Take the remaining spaghetti mixture and spread it evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking tin
Using your hands or a fork, gently lift the edges of the spaghetti mixture around the perimeter of the tin.
Push the spaghetti slightly inwards from the edges to create a raised rim, resembling the shape of a nest. Leave the center slightly lower to form a hollow for toppings.
Bake in a hot oven at 355 F - 180 C for 40 minutes

For each cupcake nest, place a spoonful of either mashed peas or mashed carrots into the hollow center you created earlier.
Place a mini mozzarella ball or a quail egg on top of the mashed vegetable garnish in the center of each cupcake nest.
Arrange the halved boiled eggs in a circular pattern around the outer edge of the large spaghetti nest. Place the cut side of the eggs facing downwards.
Spread the remaining mashed carrot and pea mixture in the center hollow of the large nest. Place two half eggs facing upward
Scatter any remaining pre-boiled peas around the base of the boiled eggs and over the mashed vegetable center for added color and visual appeal.
You can also do a muffin variation with a melted mozzarella bite in the center
The can be served hot or at room temperature

Don't use more than 12 oz - 350 gr of spaghetti otherwise the nest will be too packed and dry
You can also use tagliatelle or fettuccine but they have to be fresh, not the dried ones
If you are using dried pasta you will need to pre-biol it for half of the time written in the package
You can use any other sauce but make sure it is liquid enough to cook the spaghetti while baking them