One pot pastas have been an obsession of mine ever since I saw them pop up on the internet. I’m pretty sure the first one I ever came across was Martha’s, but I never actually got around to making it. Years went by and I finally, finally got around to giving one pot pasta a try and oh my gosh, I can honestly say I do not know why I went all those years without making it.
To be honest, I was a little skeptical of one-pot pastas. I didn’t really understand how everything could come together. I’ve always, always cooked pasta separately – even when I’m making a noodle soup, I’ll cook the noodles on the side and then add them into the broth. So it was with a bit of hesitation that I made this. I went with some super spring-time flavours because the past week has just been absolutely gorgeous. Of course today is incredibly gloomy again – spring isn’t here just yet.
While I’m waiting for those bright and fresh spring days, I’ll be filling up on one-pot meals. This came together quickly and I was really pleased with the silkiness of the sauce. Lots of pasta recipes actually call for a bit of pasta water to bind – the starch that is released when pasta is cooked is similar to the starch released when you make a risotto, so the theory behind one pot pasta is sound. The result: a silky, slightly sticky thick sauce flavoured with garlic, red pepper flakes, much like the classic aglio e olio. I didn’t use any cheese in this recipe and I found that I didn’t miss it at all. Don’t forget the squeeze of lemon at the end – it adds just the right amount of brightness and acid to go with the scallops.
I hope you guys give this recipe a try! And to encourage you even more, I’m hosting a giveaway of the braiser I used to make it! See below for details.
One-Pot Lemon Scallop Pea Spaghetti Recipe inspired by The Faux Martha
serves 3-4
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
total time: 25 minutes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 lb small scallops
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 pound spaghetti
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 1/4 cup juice)
- 3/4 cup peas, defrosted
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
- red pepper flakes, to serve
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Pat the scallops dry and season all sides generously with salt and pepper. Heat up a small amount of olive oil over medium high heat and cook the scallops until golden brown on both sides, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is slightly golden, but not brown, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and uncooked pasta. Bring to a boil and then turn down to low. Cover and cook for 8 minutes.
Remove the cover and simmer to reduce the sauce, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the scallops, defrosted peas, lemon juice, lemon zest, and flat leaf parsley. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and enjoy hot!
Giveaway: I’ve paired up with Le Creuset to give away one gorgeous braiser in the winner’s color of choice! I am seriously in love with mine – it’s perfect for making one-pot pastas!
Enter: To enter, leave a comment below with your favorite pasta memory. I want to hear ALL the details! I’ll randomly choose a winner and notify them through email. Open to US residents only. (Sorry international friends!) Also, if you’re feeling so inclined, please vote for me on the Munchies. It won’t get you an extra entry, but it will be bonus karma! Contest ends March 4th at 12pm PST. Good luck!
Update: Congrats Ace! Get ready for the one pot pastas because a braiser is heading your way! Keep your eyes peel for an email from me!
One of my first dates with my now husband was making a meal of shrimp fettuccine alfredo together!
When I was little my mom, as a recent immigrant from Vietnam, would try to recreate things she had tried in restaurants with varying degrees of success. My favorite, by far, was her version of spaghetti, which she would mispronounce as super-getti. She would throw garlic, onions, and cooked pasta into a giant wok, squirt in ketchup and sriracha, and toss until everything was kinda crispy and caramelized. I didn’t actually realize my mom’s “super-getti” wasn’t proper spaghetti until well into high school!
Two years ago my husband and I joined our daughter and family in Montefalco, Italy, for a day trip to enjoy the small town and surrounding country side with many vineyards and olive groves. We sat with owner and family in one of the vineyards sampling their wines and olive oils with plates of pasta, containing beautiful mushrooms grown in that region, olive oil and pasta made by the owner’s mother. It was a special day and unforgettable. We, of course, had to bring some of the wine and olive oil home to South Carolina, to see if we could recreate our wonderful meal.
My husband and I figured we would do our last-minute best at making a Chinese New Year dinner after picking up ingredients after the local school’s dragon dance. He had just perfected his udon noodle ratios and we made 7 foot long noodles. As people arrived we would hand them a bowl with just one noodle in stock. I had jokingly told my sister-in-law that she couldn’t break the noodle and she sure tried! At the end of the night my husband told them how if they ate two bowls they consumed more than 12 feet of noodle. It blew some minds.
I also found out how much I love pomelos that night and now I want one every single day.
I love your site! My favorite pasta memory is not elegant, to be sure, but it is very much a point of nostalgia for myself and my sister. When I was in elementary school, my parents bought a house and were left with very little money. To deal with this, they made dinners at home every night, and we enjoyed cheap staples like English muffin pizzas, creamed tuna on toast, and spaghetti o’s. The best (and cheapest, I’m sure) meal of the week was tuna fish casserole. I cannot tell you how many times we had this, but remember looking in the oven at the bubbly, cheesy topping and making sure that there was enough for us to have a second, or third, bowl of it. Oh, those were the days!
I loved learning to make pasta from scratch from my Nana. She was always so patient and calm explaining that it’s an art not a science when I kept asking about specific measurements instead of “feel”.
My wife and I fell in love with a simple date-night dish that is fennel sausage with chives and linguine pasta. Sauté sausage in olive oil allowing caramelization and ‘crispy bit’ formation. Add cooked linguine (we have done it with homemade and store-bought – both delicious). Pile in the fresh chives with a touch of red chili flakes. Now serve and top with the good extra virgin olive oil.
Hooray for scallops and pasta!!
My son LOVES cheese!! According to him, there’s no such thing as too much cheese. The first time I made mac and cheese, he declared it the best thing he’s ever eaten. To this day, every year on his birthday, I make him mac and cheese. He is now 20 years old and he still thinks I’m the best mommy ever! :)
I loved spaghetti night as a kid. All those yummy carbs! We would always have spaghetti, jarred sauce and buttery garlic bread. I especially liked the ends of the baguette. I would scoop out the center of the bread, leaving the crust and plop in some of the spaghetti from my plate. Next, I would sprinkle on some parm cheese and gobble it up. A mini bread bowl! I thought it was such a tasty good idea that I declared I would open a restaurant that served this creation. Maybe someday…