One-Pot Wednesdays: Skillet Pasta

on March 4, 2009 at 9:14 AM

One-pot pasta puttanesca

Excuse me for a second while I get really, REALLY excited about something that normal people probably won't find that exciting: Last night I discovered that you can make an entire pasta dish in one pot. One pot!!! And a skillet nonetheless!

I always thought you had to use at least two pots: one to cook the sauce, and one to boil the pasta. But Cook's Illustrated has a bunch of recipes in which you cook the pasta right in the sauce. And it has completely turned my entire world upside-down (as if you couldn't tell already).

Seriously, this blows my mind. I might need to put myself on time out just to calm down...

...And we're back: The most important thing about cooking this particular skillet pasta is that you have to follow the recipe exactly to ensure that you have the correct ratio of pasta to cooking liquid. Too much liquid? The sauce will be watery, and the pasta mushy. Too little? Your pasta won't cook enough.

This recipe calls for 12 oz of strand pasta (spaghetti, angel hair, etc.). According to Cook's Illustrated, the best way to measure pasta is to weigh it with a scale. Huh, well I don't have one of those so the alternative is to bunch enough pasta together in a tight circle so that the diameter measures 1 3/4 inches. It's a little tricky, but, hey, if I could do it...

Pasta Puttanesca adapted from The Best Skillet Recipes by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated

3 (14.5) oz cans whole peeled tomatoes, pulsed in food processor until coarsely ground

3 tablespoons oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt

Pepper

2 cups water

12 oz spaghetti, broken in half

1/4 cup chopped parsley (fresh or dried)

Parmesan cheese (to grate over top)

1/2 cup pitted black olives, chopped (optional)

3 tablespoons capers, rinsed (optional)

Cook garlic and red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat until garlic is fragrant but not browned (about 1-2 minutes). Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes no longer taste raw.

Stir in water. Add pasta. Cover. Increase heat to medium-high and vigorously simmer (stirring often) until pasta is cooked (about 12-15 minutes).

Stir in remaining oil, parsley, salt, pepper, and olives and capers (if using). Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Don't miss these our other great One-Pot Wednesday meals:

About the author Kim Conte

has shoes that make people stop her on the street and ask "Where did you get those?" but it doesn't work for taxi cabs as she was hit by one ... and lived to tell the tale. She has more freckles than Lohan but way less attitude. And she's a fierce cook with tons of recipes to share -- and wishes she could share some with Bourdain.

Filed Under: chefs & cookbooks, dinner, family meals, food, healthy choices, kid-friendly, one-pot, one-pot, recipes

Comments (5)

Cafe MicheleZ

on Mar 4, 2009 at 10:16 AM

Genius! Can't wait to try! you rock

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EthanAllyn

on Mar 4, 2009 at 11:50 AM

Thanks ! I am going to try this recipe !

girl_in_the_D

on Mar 4, 2009 at 12:26 PM

i love the recipies you add..really i do this sounds great!

justanotherjen

on Mar 4, 2009 at 2:13 PM

We make a recipe like that. We call it pizza spaghetti. I found it in one of those little cookbooks you buy at the checkout and then added to it. Basically it is spaghetti cooked in the sauce in the skillet. I always use whole wheat spaghetti with chunky sauce (best with the onion, mushroom and green peppers already in it). Then I cook up ground Italian sausage and add it in. If the sauce doesn't have chunks of veggies I cut up fresh and add to the sauce with a cup of water and cook until the noodles are soft then add in sliced black olives, cover with mozerella cheese and turkey pepperoni slices and heat until the cheese is bubbly.

The kids love it and get a full serving of the basic food groups. The original recipe used pizza sauce but spaghetti sauce is cheaper and it tastes the same in the recipe.