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 boxed macaroni and cheese, I didn’t drain the water. My mother will never let me forget the Macaroni Soup incident.
My favorite pasta memory is probably the worst pasta I ever ate – my friends and I were traveling around Scotland and staying in youth hostels and we attempted to make mac and cheese from scratch in a youth hostel kitchen one night. It was vile and we couldn’t for the life of us figure out where we’d gone wrong. The whole thing was completely hilarious too.
My mom always makes shrimp dill pasta whenever we have guests over, and it’s one of my favorite sentimental recipes! I could eat that meal every day of my life!
I’ll never forget the first time made friend made homemade pasta…we had it simply with olive oil, basil and fresh tomatoes and it was divine!
Your one pot pasta looks a million times better than mine did–It’s GORGE!! And seriously, scallops and peas?! YESSS. Mine was way too starchy at the end. Looks like I need to redeem myself and try yours.
There are some meals that are so fantastic that they stick with you forever. Like the most perfect chicken and dumplings at The Flying Pig. Or that simultaneously buttery & grapefruit-y sauce with salmon at that restaurant in Paris. Or that insanely simple but amazing pizza from the place on the corner in La Spezia. But one of my favorite dishes was a pasta dish.
When I was 16, I was just starting to really get into cooking, and I was loving it. I especially loved making pasta dishes. Pasta was (and still is!) my favorite type of food. I got it in my head that it would be a good idea to try to cook my way through the entire Gourmet Cookbook (you know, that big yellow one?). Well, I narrowed my goal down a bit to try cooking through the entire pasta section of the book (a big enough venture on its own). I got about 10 or 15 dishes in before I completely petered out. However, one of my all time favorite dishes came through this brief (but fun) experience: fresh pasta with lemon asparagus sauce. Asparagus blended with lemon and pepper make for the most velvety, yet fresh and springy, sauce you could imagine. Seriously. Most of the members of my family don’t particularly like asparagus, but that night, we all sat around the dinner table ooh-ing and mmm-ing, eating forkful after forkful. We all ended the meal with dreamy smiles on our faces, and an amazing memory in our stomachs.
My favorite pasta memory is the first time I made fresh pasta from scratch. The new neighborhood I had just moved to had this great Italian deli. One day I decided to buy randomly buy a pasta machine there. It was so much fun making it from scratch. My only real experience with pasta before that was dried pasta from the supermarket.
My favorite memory is making a big “Italian” feast for my parents and grandparents. It involved making homemade ravioli, using the pasta machine for the first time. It was a delicious success even if there were a few melt downs and dinner was 9 pm.
My best pasta memory is from the dinner we had in Florence – that gave me something to shoot for in my own cooking and sometimes I come close but we always clean our plates anyway!
Best Pasta Ever is a traditional greek lobster one pot pasta dish. Every summer I look forward to going to a greek island and having this dish. You sit down at a taverna and here comes a massive serving dish with pasta cooked with the lobster in a light tomato, garlic and parsley sauce. They ingredients are so simple but the end result it to die for!