How To Reheat Leftover Pasta That's Already Sauced Just Like A Sicilian Chef

Is it a crime to reheat your leftover pasta in the microwave? Maybe not to you, but Sicilian chef and owner of the popular family owned Kansas City eatery Jasper's Restaurant, Jasper J. Mirabile Jr., would say differently. As the host of Live! From Jasper's Kitchen Radio, chef Mirabile brings his passion for food and tradition to light for everyone to hear every single week, but this question seemed to enlighten another dimension of his emotional connection to food, bringing back memories of the meals his family prepared throughout his childhood.

Chef Mirabile told Tasting Table that, in his house, they called their reheated pasta "fried pasta" — which hints at how he believes all leftover pasta deserves to be brought back to life. "My mother would always put a little oil or butter in a frying pan and add the pasta, especially after we had rigatoni or penne, and add it to the frying pan just to crisp up a little bit and warm thoroughly," he explained. "My absolute favorite way to enjoy leftover pasta. There's no other way." That is, unless you bake it, of course.

Chef Mirabile added that if he's not making fried pasta, he also likes to bake his leftovers from time to time. "You can bake it in a casserole with more meat sauce or tomato sauce, and then layer with cheese like you would lasagna and bake," he explained.

As the saying goes, moms always know best — and Chef Mirabile's mother certainly knew what she was doing when she chose to reheat their leftovers on the stove top rather than in the microwave. Just like how pasta absorbs moisture when it's boiling, it also releases moisture when it's cooling. That's why, when you take your leftover pasta out of the fridge, it's noticeably stiffer and has an almost stale consistency. Putting it in the microwave only worsens that, causing the little water that's left within it to evaporate even faster.

While a lid might help to mitigate the microwave situation, it does nothing to compensate for the water that was lost during the pasta's time in the fridge. It also doesn't help bring your creamy sauces back to life, as the oils and fats can separate when reheated in the microwave. Mirabile's fried pasta method is one of the absolute best ways to reheat pasta; not only does it reheat the pasta evenly, but it provides fat (in the form of butter) or oil for the pasta sauce to combine with. Toss with a tablespoon of cream or water until heated through, and your leftover pasta will drink it up to look and taste like new.