One-Pan Pasta

Do you drain it?

[quote] Do you drain it?

No, you do not drain it. It all cooks in just 4-1/2 cups of water and you remove the pasta et al with tongs.

The charred black Spaghetti all'assassina recipe of chef Celso Laforgia? It's everywhere, and while I've not tried it, it seems the novelty of the moment (anything that saves a step or a dirty pan is hailed as a triumph.)

I'm happy with pasta boiled apart and later the sauce added. The "flavor" from charring on the pan bottom and the incorporation of the starch from the water...I'm not persuaded. But tell us how it goes.

Wasn't there an infamous DL thread about draining pasta?

[quote] The charred black Spaghetti all'assassina recipe of chef Celso Laforgia? It's everywhere, and while I've not tried it, it seems the novelty of the moment (anything that saves a step or a dirty pan is hailed as a triumph.) I'm happy with pasta boiled apart and later the sauce added. The "flavor" from charring on the pan bottom and the incorporation of the starch from the water...I'm not persuaded. But tell us how it goes.

R3, no, not the spaghetti all'assassina recipe. I've read all about that and am not that interested in trying it.

This is it, R3

[quote] Wasn't there an infamous DL thread about draining pasta?

Yes.

Thanks, Greg/R6.

When I do those types of recipes, I just put the pan in the oven until the pasta is done.

The reviews make it plain that the onions and garlic should be sauteed first.

Okay. Thanks.

I don't know if you're referring to me, R10, but I absolutely sautee my onions, garlic, and chili first, and do all the other stuff up to putting in the pasta. After I add the pasta, I stick it in the oven.

That recipe calls for 4.5 cups of water for 12 oz of linguine. Seems like too much water. When I cook a whole box of dry pasta (16 oz), I don't even need 4.5 cups for that.

[quote] That recipe calls for 4.5 cups of water for 12 oz of linguine. Seems like too much water. When I cook a whole box of dry pasta (16 oz), I don't even need 4.5 cups for that.

America's Test Kitchen says 2 quarts of water will suffice for up to 1/2 pound of pasta, 4 quarts for 1/2 pound to 1 pound, and 6 quarts for 1 to 2 pounds. Going by this, you should be using at least 16 cups of water for one pound of pasta.

Lidia Bastianich stands by using 6 quarts of water (24 cups) per pound of pasta, but noted that reducing the amount of water to 4 quarts still produces an acceptable dish. In general, the quantity tends to fluctuate between 4–6 quarts of water (16 to 24 cups) per pound of pasta depending on the cookbook, chef, or pasta box being consulted.

Skillet on the stove or is this baked in the oven, Greg? I like one step, one dish meals.

[quote] Skillet on the stove or is this baked in the oven, Greg? I like one step, one dish meals.

R16, this is done entirely on the stove. I'll let you know how it comes out.

I can't eat cheese. Anything i can use instead?

I tried this recipe a few years ago and was not very happy with it. It’s very plain and more or less exactly what you’d expect to happen when you just throw some sliced onions and cherry tomatoes into boiling water for ten minutes — not so much a sauce as much as slightly off-raw vegetables with linguine.

I mean this nicely, I am not trying to incite anything-- why do people mess with these middling Martha Stewart recipes? I am sure there's some reasoning, and as a fellow cook, I want to know what that is.

It's true that a salmon recipe of hers that I tried was very ho-hum.

Even her recipe reviews average three stars. That's really low considering how willing people are to assign something five stars just for not being awful, or merely because they liked the photo of the dish!

[quote]R13: That recipe calls for 4.5 cups of water for 12 oz of linguine. Seems like too much water. When I cook a whole box of dry pasta (16 oz), I don't even need 4.5 cups for that.

Stewart boils it for ten minutes without a lid. Probably over half of that water is lost to evaporation.

She should stick to paper crafts and tulip bulbs.

Essentially pasta being cooked via the rice method of getting the liquid to absorb and let the steam do the work to finish it?

It may depend on the type of pasta but it is a fascinating variation. essentially cooking pasta in the broth and sauce that gets reduced at the end. Apparently it seems you might have to time it very precisely based on the type of pasta or it may not be optimal

I’m open minded

[quote]R25: Essentially pasta being cooked via the rice method of getting the liquid to absorb and let the steam do the work to finish it?

The 'rice method' would require a lid.

R12, no, that was for Greg :)

I like the concept Greg, but it sounds bland to me. Not enough time to extract the flavours. Will be interesting to see what you think.

I made this but my hubby doesn’t like linguine so I used rice and I added chicken but no tomatoes or onions, and then baked it in the oven with cheese. It was deelish! Will make again!

^ so not the same then.

Ffs R30…

R31, R30 is absolutely right. It's a completely different recipe.

R29, I'm happy for you but it didn't turn out for me. IF I COULD GIVE THIS ZERO STARS I WOULD.

I didn't have tomatoes either so I swapped them out with canned potatoes and my littles don't do chicken so I subbed thin-sliced sirloin tip. Recipe called for WAY too much salt-- Oh my God no one needs that much salt! I wish recipes would just start telling everyone to "salt to taste" so those of us with salt-sensitivity can do that and everyone else can just fuck off and figure it out for themselves!

Added some frozen broccoli at the end for extra veggies to be healthy, then lightly sprinkled with 32oz shredded mild cheddar and baked at 375 until bubbly. Unfortaly, noone liked it and my kids only ate the melted cheese, then they cried when I asked them to finish it. What a waste of canned potatoes. The dog wouldn't even eat it, and he eats anything. FAIL!

^ sounds perfect.

[quote]I can't eat cheese.

WHY?

So many kitchen captains of the Ship of Theseus, taking a recipe and substituting every single ingredient for something quite different and declaring it either a dog's dinner or a triumph.

That's just an amalgam of the switch-up reviews I have read over the years, R36. I was inspired by R29 who was also making a joke of it.

That sort of review always involves a regret that one cannot give fewer than one star, a complaint about the salt, and a remark about whether the dog ate it.

And I do think these salt complainers have made cooks reluctant to include the actual amount of salt used in a recipe which fucks it up for the rest of us. I know to roughly gauge the amount of salt needed for a dish, but if it is omitted in the recipe then sometimes I forget to add it altogether. I fucking hate when people bitch about salt. If you have an aversion to salt, it's easier for you to reduce the salt than it is for the 80% of cooks who like it to adjust the recipe to include enough salt.

Forgot to sign as R33

Using less water makes the pasta starchier so the sauce clings to it better.

[quote]Has anyone ever tried this method?

I mentioned it in your instant pot so-called risotto thread.

It's November, why are you using cherry tomatoes? They're mostly horrible now. What you are proposing is fine but it's really a summer dish.

[quote]No, you do not drain it. It all cooks in just 4-1/2 cups of water and you remove the pasta et al with tongs.

Good Lord.

If made properly, there is nothing to remove. The pasta and condiment are cooked together.

[quote] water and you remove the pasta et al with tongs.

Oops. Actually perhaps I misread that. I see the "et al". Sorry about that.

Anyway, for fall and winter months use canned tomatoes or things like squash, pumpkin, mushrooms...things in season. Additions of speck, pancetta work too.

I’m in!

Thanks Greg!

R35 my doctor says it's lactose intolerance but that's because i didn't tell him about that time a fat uncut cock that came through the glory hole i was crouched at and i took it in my... In my .. No i can't go on... Shudder...

This handsome Italian guy in the video below, heard of Martha Stewart's one pan pasta and is rightly appalled by it.

Even if you can't speak Italian, you can follow along with how he prepares one-pan pasta risotatta. You'll hear him mention Martha Stewart at the beginning.

American's always try to find silly short cuts. He calls Martha Stewart's recipe "blasphemy".

BTW: pasta made this way is the way sailors make pasta on boats where fresh water must be used carefully. The first time I had pasta prepared this way was on my friend's sail boat going to Elba.. Penne, zucchini, tomato, garlic.

And how was the sailboat pasta?

Greg, at what point do you add the prunes?

R45 Well you what would you think? Pomodorini and zucchini at the height of their season (it was August). The best olive oil. Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. And Italian pasta. And a cook who knew what he was doing.

I make it now and then. In the summer as he did with zucchini and pomodorini.

R19 I was going to say that it sounds quite bland.

"American's always try to find silly short cuts."

You should see the thread about risotto thread r44. Apparently Greg is going to do blind taste test of various kinds of instant risottos. Or something like that, the last i saw.

I am torn between trying Greg's risotto or cursing Greg's risotto.

Greg cooks a mean sardines and prune pasta!

[quote] You should see the thread about risotto thread [R44]. Apparently Greg is going to do blind taste test of various kinds of instant risottos. Or something like that, the last i saw.

Fuck off, R49. I am not doing any such thing. Someone else mentioned doing a taste test and I replied:

[quote] Yes, I hope someone will take on this challenge. [bold] No need to include boxed instant risotto. [/bold] That will always come in last. We just want to have a taste test using both a traditionally-prepared risotto and one made in an Instant Pot (or some other type of pressure cooker).

You're an idiot. It's true.

[quote] I am torn between trying Greg's risotto or cursing Greg's risotto.

R50, here's an idea: Why don't you try making my risotto and if you don't like it, you can then curse it. It doesn't have to be either/or.

[quote] Greg cooks a mean sardines and prune pasta!

Do you enjoy being so mediocre? I mean really, is that the best you can do? So creative making a comment about me and prunes. I think you should probably take a shower and get dressed. It's after noon.

[quote] Greg, at what point do you add the prunes?

Ah, another person trying to be funny but just being embarrassing.

Greg’s sphincter and adjacent soft tissue has lost a lot of muscle tone over the years.

Low brow, but I do this a lot with Tuna Helper. One pan pasta!

Someone please assure me that R36 did not vote in the last election.

[quote] This handsome Italian guy in the video below, heard of Martha Stewart's one pan pasta and is rightly appalled by it. Even if you can't speak Italian, you can follow along with how he prepares one-pan pasta risotatta. You'll hear him mention Martha Stewart at the beginning.

What makes you say that he is appalled by Martha's version? Did you translate the Italian? Because he is in no way negative about Martha. I made this dish, but did sauté the onions and garlic ahead of time. I found this to be very tasty....simple and clean flavors.

[quote] Greg’s sphincter and adjacent soft tissue has lost a lot of muscle tone over the years.

Makes it easier for you to get your tongue in there, no?

[quote] I mean this nicely, I am not trying to incite anything-- why do people mess with these middling Martha Stewart recipes? I am sure there's some reasoning, and as a fellow cook, I want to know what that is.

R20, good question. As someone who has cooked for years, professionally and just at home, I get bored with food and look around for something different to cook. Would I serve this particular dish to guests? No. But I was interested in trying it out on a Sunday night at home and it was just fine. The flavors are mild, yes. But I grilled some Italian sausage to have with it and it was a pleasant, clean pasta dish to eat and the cooking and cleanup was so easy.

Would I make this again? Sure. But I did sauté the onion and garlic ahead of time based on what some commenters said and what I know.

[quote] It's November, why are you using cherry tomatoes? They're mostly horrible now. What you are proposing is fine but it's really a summer dish.

Ah, because I grow them in my greenhouse and they are perfectly delicious.

Yes, I agree that this is a summer dish, but I wanted to try it and I have delicious cherry tomatoes, lovely basil, really good pasta, & Parmigiano Reggiano. And, who cares what I make for just the two of us on a Sunday night?

Even better is convection roasting halved cherry or grape tomatoes in garlic-infused olive oil. Within 5 minutes at 400, the fruit breaks down, gets a little brown, and throws off enough juice to make a light sauce when you tip the whole lot onto cooked, undrained pasta.

Martha's recipe is just too lazy, and boiling everything is less flavorful.

Glad you sauteed the aromatics, friend. Envious of your greenhouse

[quote] Greg’s sphincter and adjacent soft tissue has lost a lot of muscle tone over the years.

[quote] Makes it easier for you to get your tongue in there, no?

I asked you a question, R56. Has the loss of muscle tone in Greg's sphincter and adjacent soft tissue, made it easier to get your tongue in there? Let me be clear: Is it easier for you, R56, to get your tongue into Greg's sphincter—to get your tongue deep into his asshole—now that it has lost some muscle tone? Is it?

This guy calls his one pot pasta a "risotto" method. I like the first one he makes in this video and plan to try it.

I don’t recommend rimming Greg owing to questionable anal hygiene.

This sounds like a great way to make very slightly flavored glue.

[quote]What makes you say that he is appalled by Martha's version? Did you translate the Italian? Because he is in no way negative about Martha.

Good grief. Dear, learn Italian.

[quote]This guy calls his one pot pasta a "risotto" method.

As mentioned in post R44. risottata = risotto method. See the video.

[quote] And, who cares what I make for just the two of us on a Sunday night?

There is a second? Good grief. I picture Greg as Hyacinth Bucket with her candle light prune instant suppers when he would rather just have a sandwich in bed.

Greg I'm the one who couldn't decide whether to make your risotto or not. I didn't mean anything by it; I enjoy your posts. I will try it after Thanksgiving.

Do you have any tips on arancini?

Please don't.

Yes, with angel hair and constant stirring at the end. Then add cheese or whatever.

[quote] Good grief. Dear, learn Italian.

R69, why don't you tell us exactly what he says about Martha Stewart. We can wait.

[quote] Do you have any tips on arancini?

Yes, I do. Here they are:

1. Use panko instead of traditional Italian-style breadcrumbs. This will result in a lighter crunch because panko will absorb less oil. You can also blitz the panic in a food processor first so that the crust will have an even finer texture and so that the crumbs will adhere better.

2. Get creative with your fillings. Try garlicky-sautéed mushrooms or greens chopped into a fine dice, or a bit of grilled eggplant or smoky baba ganoush.

3. Let the rice balls rest in the refrigerator before breading and frying them. This will help them to keep their shape.

I appreciate you taking the time, Greg. I look forward to trying this.

R62 Mother had a greenhouse.

I cook my pasta in the micro with the Fasta Pasta. I love it; I don't have to watch or stir it and can prepare the sauce while it cooks.

What is it with the DL and pasta?

[quote]why don't you tell us exactly what he says about Martha Stewart. We can wait.

He calls Martha Stewart's method of cooking this dish: "una blasfema".

Why don't YOU tell us what that means.

We can wait.

Wonder what part of Boston Greg lives in? Surely not Beacon Hill.

Greg, this makes me want to barf.

[quote] Greg, this makes me want to barf.

R82, you make me want to barf.

This seems simple enough that I will try it. I’ve been experimenting with different, healthier pastas and I’ve never tasted anything as putrid as edamame fettuccini.

[quote] Wonder what part of Boston Greg lives in? Surely not Beacon Hill.

Surely not Beacon Hill, because my taste is more upscale than that.

Truth is, I used to live on Beacon Hill. But I have since moved on up to the exclusive Back Bay neighborhood—the country's second-most expensive zip code. Back Bay is only outdone by the San Francisco suburb of Atherton. Prices in my neighborhood are outpacing even the Hamptons.

Well, shit, I know "expensive zip code" beats out architecture and amenities!

Beacon Hill is probably doing just fine, thanks.

[quote] Well, shit, I know "expensive zip code" beats out architecture and amenities!

It's all part of the deal. Back Bay has pretty amazing architecture and larger, more grand homes that Beacon Hill. As for amenities, I'm not sure what you mean, but Back Bay has fine amenities. What do you think one pays for if not architecture and amenities?

Beacon Hill is lovely. I loved living there, but parking was a nightmare for guests...even worse than Back Bay.

DL, this is my first time reading a “Greg” thread.

Is he always this cranky? Or am I misunderstanding his Boston wit?

[quote] DL, this is my first time reading a “Greg” thread. Is he always this cranky? Or am I misunderstanding his Boston wit?

R88, welcome. I would love for you to point out instances where you think I'm cranky. As opposed to the many posts that attempt to insult me. Seriously. Within this thread, tell me where I'm cranky.

yeah r88 you criticize Greg when someone else said that his sphincter and adjacent soft tissue has lost a lot of muscle tone over the years? Your criticism is misplaced.

R88, Greg is always cranky when we don't applaud his idealised self.

I don’t know if this is applicable; I’m hardly a cook but I made something called one pot taco spaghetti or cowboy spaghetti for a pot luck a few months ago. I was really skeptical that the pasta would cook (at all). It did, and I got more compliments than I have ever received for something I attempted to cook.

If you have a large glass microwave popcorn maker, you can use it to cook small pasta like rotini in the microwave. It's made of borosilicate like the old Pyrex and that expensive Anyday microwave cookware.

This popcorn maker

I don't care if Italian sailors made it this way, it seems weird and gimmicky to me. Most people are not Italian sailors who have to save water.

[quote]Most people are not Italian sailors

Unfortunately.

I wouldn't say that, R96

R92, can you find that recipe? I have the stuff to make whatever it is, but there are lots of similarly named casseroles.

R98 - I watched two or three videos, but I’m pretty sure this is one I followed.

I've been cooking for a very long time, and I'm not special needs, but I can't drain fat from a pan of ground beef. At least a quarter of it ends up in the sink. I started using paper towels to soak it up from the pan without draining it, but it takes a lot,so either way is an eco-nighmare. Consequently, I don't use ground beef much. Are there any tricks or even a... kitchen gadget 😑 if nothing else?

If one uses 93/7 beef is it necessary to drain?

Don't drain fat into the sink. That's just creating a future clog that will require a plumber some time down the road. Pour your grease either directly into your kitchen garbage bag, or if that bothers you, find some discarded yogurt or cottage cheese container and pour the grease into that and then fling it into the garbage bag. A better solution is to use ground turkey - much less fat. Even if you add a little olive oil to it to keep it from sticking to the pan, it will still be far less caloric and fat-filled than ground beef with very little to drain away

Just empty the contents of the pan into a colander in the sink, R100.