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!
The first meal I ever cooked for my family was pasta. I was about seven and I made Mollie Katzen’s recipe for Green Spaghetti from her cookbook for kids. About two thirds of the way through the process of cooking it, I realized that Green Spaghetti was the same thing as pasta with pesto — a food I had sworn that I hated. When we sat down to ate, I was so proud of my work that I found myself enthusiastically eating my green pasta.
When I was younger, my favorite dish was “chicken spaghetti stir fry” which was really stir fried vegetables and chicken mixed with pasta and a ginger/garlic/Parmesan “sauce.” Sounds a little weird, but I loved it then, and I still do now! My grandma would always make it for me and serve it in the coolest turquoise serving bowl that I now have and serve the pasta in whenever I make it.
My most favorite pasta moment was making spaghetti and meatballs for my boyfriend (now husband). It was our first Valentines Day together in high school and I never made a meal from scratch (or should I say, this was the first meal I ever made!) I used my grandmothers recipe for the meat balls and I kind of winged the sauce. It turned out very garlicky, and very delicious. : )
This looks super tasty!
My favorite pasta memory is probably watching my mom make homemade noodles for some of the best turkey-noodle soup on the planet. She makes thick semolina noodles and they’re the best!
Eating gnocchi (potato pasta counts, right?!) when studying abroad in Italy for the first time. Can’t be beat.
My fondest memory of pasta has to be when I got it into my mind that I wanted to make burrata ravioli from scratch. It took way way longer than I expected to roll out the dough and actually assemble them. My boyfriend jumped in to help me with it and I still remember how much fun it was just hanging out and laughing while we made them. In the end they turned out delicious and it turned out to be well worth the effort!
My favorite pasta memory was learning how to plate pasta for photographs, in the nice little spiraled whorls from the tongs. So beautiful! Ahh food blogging days…I miss them sometimes, but most of the time I’m glad I get to eat without photographing first!
My favorite pasta memory is making fresh pasta for the first time. Flour everywhere, irregular noodle size, just a giant mess. But it ended up being delicious and fun anyway.
Your shots are so killer. You inspire me always
I had a fantastic bowl of fettucine with asparagus and panchetta in Firenze this past summer. It was a wonderful, small restaurant and the dish was so fresh, so simple, and so satisfying.