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 time i made pasta in middle school! I felt like i was the world’s best chef!
Some of my fondest memories of eating pasta come from when I lived in Japan right after college. New and unusual flavor combinations reflected the Japanese specialty of honing something down to perfection while adding a touch of the sublime– oyster mushrooms with ponzu, eggplant and katsuoboshi, and even plain old marinara done to a t.
I’m a huge fan of one-dish meals…especially pasta meals! I enjoy how flavors of a one-dish meal layer together to create a whole new taste experience. I’ve never been one of those people who separates food on my plate not allowing them to ‘touch.’ I have friends who do that… seriously, now, you don’t know what you’re missing! Every now and then, who am I kidding … often I MUST have a pasta meal! Pasta boosts my mood, boosts my joy and boosts my booty with energy. My favorite pasta dish memory was a dinner with friends. We all shared in the chopping, stirring, sauteing, simmering, and sampling (!) of a simple dish that was a happy shared meal. Pasta and friends, can’t top that!
My best pasta memory is going to an Italian restaurant with my family when I visited my dad in the summer. It was family from Italy that opened the restaurant and we always had the bow tie pasta with spinach and shrimp in a white sauce. Before the restaurant closed their doors to move back home they shared their wonderful recipe with our family and to this day I make the pasta every so often. Every time I cook it, it brings back good memories and tastes fantastic as well!
My favorite is the first time I mastered bolognese! I had been trying for years.
My favorite: in college I had a good friend who was from Maine. She was (and still is) one of the best people I’ve ever known. Just really honest and accepting. She made this baked Mac & Cheese that I will never forget. It was all from scratch with mini shells, extra sharp white cheddar, butter, onions, magic, and a crust on top made of butter melted with crumbled crackers it something. The stuff was legendary, and I’ve never had any better. I should catch up with her and ask for that recipe. :)
I am not a dainty eater. When I was a kid my neighbor used to guess what I had for dinner by looking at my shirt. Anyway, pasta has always been a messy meal for me. I try to spin it on my fork and get it into my mouth but most of the time it ends up on my chin, my lap, my shirt, etc. I remember being invited to a friend’s house for dinner as a kid and her mom served pasta. They were all carefully eating it, taking small amounts and careful bites. I didn’t want to embarrass myself so I did the same. I didn’t get a drop of spagetti sauce on my shirt or the table cloth but I really didn’t enjoy my meal. Now, whether by myself or with others, I take big saucy mouthfuls of pasta and I make a mess. Pasta is meant to be enjoyed!
My favorite pasta memory is the first time I fed spaghetti to my daughter. I loved watching her face light up and seeing the sauce EVERYWHERE was just so classic. Plus it helped that I made the spaghetti, and I always love it when my family loves my food!
Favorite pasta memory? what a difficult question to answer! My fav is probably when I was little, my dad would cook the pasta and there would always be ‘logs’ (you know, a gang of cooked spaghetti stuck together in lumps)…my mom and sister would always argue over who got the ‘log’ and the loser got the smaller log (there were always multiples!). Definitely one of the more entertaining nights was pasta night at my house growing up….
On another note – I recently came across your blog and really like it! Keep up the great work!
Hmmm, favorite pasta memory. The year my husband and I traveled to Italy. We visited old family friends on their farm outside of Milan. We spent a day helping harvest their olives (I am so not lying!). Our hosts mother spent all day in the kitchen making all of us workers a huge meal. Dishes kept coming out of the kitchen…course after course. Spaghetti was one of the dishes. It was delish of course, but the next best part was the next day for breakfast. She put a pan on the stove, threw in some whisked eggs and parmesan, then threw in the spaghetti and mixed it all up…cooked for a bit and turned it out like a frittata….I’ve made that dish ever since….over 15 years now. Superb