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!
My favorite pasta memory is of learning how to use chopsticks by eating ramen. My mom would give me and my sisters bowls of ramen and a pair of chopsticks to practice. I remember playing around and gripping one chopstick in each hand and moving the noodles around, and my mom telling me to stop fooling around and do it right.
My dad’s pasta. Oh so good. We could smell it cooking from outside. He used good spaghetti and made his own sauce with onions and mushrooms and green peppers. He put ground meat and pork bones in it for more flavor. It would cook for hours. We loved to eat the little meat that didn’t fall off the bones while cooking. It was even good served cold from the refrigerator. I miss seeing him make that sauce. He was so proud of his cooking. I miss my dad.
Eating cacio e pepe in Rome. Best three ingredient pasta in the world.
LOVE this recipe! My friend and I love scallops while our partners can’t stand them- this will be a fun recipe to try with them!
My favorite pasta memory is from my childhood. I learned to make classic spaghetti and garlic bread while volunteering for the Salvation Army with my grandparents and siblings. My siblings and I would spend the summers with my grandparents in Galveston, Texas and our Tuesday consisted of organizing and cooking for those in need at the local Salvation Army. To this day I have never met a group of people that were more kind and grateful for what they have. Something as simple as cooking a meal for others taught a valuable lesson about giving and gave me memories that I hold dear to this day. Thanks, Gran!
So many favorite pasta memories! I think the top might be my first ever experience with homemade linguine with fried garlic and olive oil–a revelation.
I always enjoyed my Italian Grandma make fresh pasta for dinner. Although I rarely make pasta many recipes I have created were inspired by her.
One of my favorite pasta memories was with a group of friends at a quaint traditional Sardinian restaurant, La Ciccia, in San Francisco. A good friend of ours calls this place dinner at least once a week, so we were definitely warmly welcomed by the husband and wife owners and staff. I really believe that recalling delicious meal isn’t only about the food, but the whole package. The company, the service, the ambiance, the food and the wine. We had all of that during this evening, but I do have to say the dish that stood out was the fresh spaghetti with squid ink. When the dish was brought to the table, the server shaved tuna hearts on top. It was DELICIOUS!
My favorite pasta memory is studying in Italy in college and trying all of the variations on ragu made with wild boar. It’s still my favorite meal of all time and I can’t wait to get back and have it again.
My favorite pasta memory was when I made a farfalle, mozzarella, and plum tomato dish and was so afraid that my son would not eat it due to the tomatoes. I had halved the tomatoes and seared them to let the juices out. It ended up that my son finish the whole dish, tomatoes and all!
I was taking the last of my Italian language classes to get my degree and decided to make pasta carbonara for a project. The linguini noodles with pancetta, romano cheese, and eggs was on point.