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One Pot Pasta (Martha Stewart)

onepotpastamsIt's one of Martha Stewart's most popular recipes - and for good reason. This is the original one-pot pasta recipe, inspired by a dish one of her food editors ate in Puglia, Italy. It uses a revolutionary technique: All the ingredients cook together in the same pan (a straight-sided skillet). You don’t even need to boil water first. You can use cherry or grape tomatoes for this recipe. You’ll also need onion, garlic, fresh basil (this is not a time to use dried), plus extra-virgin olive oil. All go into the pan with the linguine. As the pasta cooks, the water reduces and the starchiness from the pasta transforms the remaining water into a creamy sauce. Don't skip the Parmesan and add more fresh basil to finish the dish.

12 oz linguine
12 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 onion, thinly sliced (~ 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 sprigs fresh basil
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
4½ cups water

Garnish:
torn fresh basil leaves
extra-virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, oil, salt, pepper and water in a large straight-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls and garnish with basil. Serve with oil and Parmesan.

Makes 4 servings.

Cook's Notes:

  • Pasta: You could use other types of pasta but this one-pot pasta recipe was developed with and tested using linguine, which cooks in the same times as the other ingredients, about nine minutes. If you substitute another pasta, it needs to have the same cooking time.
  • Pot or Pan: It is best to use a type of pan known as a straight-sided skillet. The terms pot and pan are often used interchangeably, but generally, a pot is larger than a pan; a pan has one handle and a pot has two small handles. You can use other pans for this recipe but don’t use a small pan that would crowd the ingredients or a very large pot that would make it difficult to stir the pasta in.