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 fave memory is of my husband’s grandfather and his FAMOUS spaghetti and meatballs. He used to spend all freakin day on those things. Freshly ground meat, freshly ground spices, raisins….. then DEEP FRIED! With slow slow cooked homemade sauce of course. He has since passed away and we make it every winter to keep up the tradition!
Some of my absolute favorite childhood memories of pasta are nostalgically from pasta roni. The buttery creamy fake cheeses and intense false flavors were everything to me. But I’ll will NEVER forget the incredibly simply and incredibly delicious white clam pasta I had while visiting Italy. The clams were subtle and the sauce was delicate letting the butter, white wine, and cream really shine through in the purest way.
While I might not be able to replicate that pasta at home and I have to stick with variations of Pasta Roni. I’ll never forget that amazing dish which I believe was one pot as well.
Favorite pasta moment: making it with friends :)
Every Christmas my Mother would make 400-500 meat raviolis by hand. She would start right after Thanksgiving and we could not wait until Christmas Dinner!! This was only one of the many courses she would serve. My Father would tantalize all of his customers with the upcoming holiday menu, making them drool over their drinks! She almost always made home made pasta until she passed away in her mid 80’s.
My father graduated from the first class of the Culinary Institute right after the war. He was a cook and my mother a waitress when they met – she told him if he wanted to marry her he better get out of the restaurant business. He became a mailman. Anyway, he used to make lasagna every Saturday for years, and we would schlep it over to our friends house and the weekly penny ante poker night. Just a small group of friends and their kids playing small time poker (letting the kids sit in when the adults needed a bathroom break). The lasagna, bolognese, no ricotta ever. I never had ricotta in lasagna until years later when i became a chef. Best memory ever.
Growing up my favorite “special” meal was deep fried pasta. We would make spaghetti noodles from scratch, rolling out and cutting each piece, then just toss the noodles to make little patties or “nests” which would then get fried.They were always topped with vegetable and chicken stirfry and are one of my best childhood memories!
My favorite pasta memory has to be the time I made eggplant Parmesan from our first eggplants. I salted the slices and let them sweat, and made breadcrumbs from toasted bread. The tomato sauce I’d made from the tomatoes that had grown up next to the eggplants. It all cooked up under mozzarella in a cast iron skillet (Le Creuset, actually!). My friend’s wife had just left him, so we sat around late into the night eating every bite of that eggplant with spaghetti and talking.
Growing up, one of my favorite meals my mom made was an artichoke chicken pasta dish that was baked. SO good.
I just had a duck pappardelle at Caffe Storico in NYC last week. Super thin, delicious pappardelle and a rich duck based ragu. I was definitely a member of the clean plate club that night. So amaaaazing.
My favorite pasta memory is the first time I made my own pasta. It was a revelation! So silky.