One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta Recipe
May 19, 2013 in Vegetarian Entrees
One Pot Wonder Pasta – BEFORE
Once in awhile a dish comes along and stuns you and makes you rethink the way you cook. This miracle throw-everything-in-a-pot pasta dish has done that for me.
You literally throw in all the ingredients for this dish – including the uncooked pasta – and then Flame On! You cook it all together and DO NOT DRAIN the pasta. You just cook it up and starch leaches out of the pasta and makes a rich, warm sauce for the noodles. The other ingredients cook right along with the pasta. The tastes and textures of this dish are shockingly good. And the “sauce” made by the starch from the pasta combining with the reduced vegetable broth is truly remarkable.
I started with the idea from a photo I saw in this months’s Martha Stewart Living magazine, but I added some things to make this recipe my own and that I think make the dish even better: some crumbled oregano leaves and a little olive oil for richness. And Oh Yes! – I used vegetable broth, not water and salt as called for in the recipe. I used regular vegetable broth, not a low-sodium version, and this was the perfect seasoning for the pasta.
I was so nervous about cooking the linguine right with the other ingredients, but I took a leap of faith. This dish is a revelation, and I’ll make it again and again.
NOTE: This recipe and new technique just scream out for experimentation by passionate cooks, so please feel free to tweak as desired, and come back and let us know your favorite version(s)!
Happy Meatless Monday, all!
One Pot Wonder Pasta – AFTER
– posted by Donna
I used a can of diced tomatoes, but as the summer tomato harvest begins, I will try this recipe again using garden ripened tomatoes. Will report back in July, all!
ONE POT WONDER TOMATO BASIL PASTA
Serves 4 to 6 as an entree
12 ounces linguine pasta
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid ( I used zesty red pepper flavor style)
1 medium sweet onion, cut in 1/4 inch julienne strips (use an onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla)
4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (use regular broth and NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch (about 10 to 12 leaves) basil, diced
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.
Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add basil leaves and stir pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot evenly throughout the pasta as you are serving. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.
Other one-pot pasta wonders:
My friend the Mountain Mama made One Pot Pasta with MIni Chicken Meatballs
Week of Menus has the flavor trio of Sausage, Broccolini and Garlic Pasta
I’ve never had gluten-free pasta, but Martha makes me want to try with her Pasta Putanesca
[…] One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta from Apron Springs […]
[…] any pleasure of eating or reheating ready-made foods. When I saw a post on Facebook by Shaf about One-Pot Pasta, I simply ignored it. And then one day while looking for something to eat for lunch, I was suddenly […]
My husband is not a pasta fan but loves this! He has asked me a couple of times to make this so making it again for dinner tonight. I do saute my onions in olive oil and add mushrooms. I really like it myself. Great recipe!!!
can spaghetti be used instead of linguini?
I made this this morning and everyone in my house liked it. Thank you for sharing this recipe. No doubt, this will be something I will repeat again, again, and again.
[…] Pasta: http://www.apronstringsblog.com/one-pot-wonder-tomato-basil-pasta-recipe/ […]
I made this last night for dinner, exactly as the recipe says, and it was sooo good. Thank you for posting it. I will be making this again and again.
I made this recipe for dinner tonight and I’ve got to tell ya…..this a definite keeper recipe!! It was delicious. I used two cans of diced tomatoes (onion, celery and green pepper flavor). I also added shrimp in the last few minutes of cook time and it was great!! Great favors and the gentle crunch from the onions gave a great texture.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! I loved it! I made a couple of changes, I added in turkey sausage and also added the basil at the beginning, rather than the end. So good! thanks! I also shared it on my blog:http://brittsapron.blogspot.com/2014/03/one-pot-tomato-basil-pasta.html
I am Italian.
And this is BLASPHEMY for us.
The pasta MUST BE boiled in water with nothing else but salt. The sauce must be added ONLY when the pasta is cooked, and it must be ‘al dente’, which means cooked until just firm. I’m sure this receipt is good, but please don’t ever call it Italian :)
Thank you for your comment Cinzia – the idea for this recipe came from Martha Stewart Living magazine – the May 2013 edition. It was a small paragraph describing that one of the Martha Stewart employees had learned this cooking technique when she was in Italy – I don’t remember which region it was. Perhaps this is a very unusual technique that is found in only one part of Italy? I do acknowledge that most pasta is cooked with only salt and water – so I agree with you that this is an unusual method. But, it makes sense for a busy weeknight meal!
Whats the green stuff in before pic?
Basil leaves!
Jump off the high horse. Don’t rate or comment negatively if you’ve never tried it. I did tonight and it was delicious – and could be classified as Italian.
If I have vegetable stock can I use that instead of vegetable broth, will it make a big difference I taste?!?
Yes, you can! Won’t make a difference. Fairly certain vegetable stock and vegetable broth are one and the same! Or not different enough to notice. :)
I made this tonight, but I added about 1/4 cup of half and half and a half a package (4 oz.) of cream cheese to give it a creamy sauce. The family LOVED it! My daughter suggested adding mushrooms next time, and the guys said I could add meat too-chicken or shrimp! This is fabulous! Thank you!
[…] Tomato basil pasta recipe from Apron Strings! […]
Donna, I made this for dinner tonight and LOVED it!!! Easy, inexpensive, and so delicious! I made a few very minor changes to accommodate ingredients on hand (spaghetti instead of linguine, chicken broth instead of veggie broth), but the recipe still worked like a charm. I did double the red pepper, but we love our heat here in Texas. I just can’t thank you enough for posting this…I’ll be putting it on my short list of favorite go-to meals!