You can tell that I am a little late for the one-pot pasta party…but it is okay. I just didn’t think it would be as good as the traditionally cooked pasta is. So I decided to give it a try on a busy night and yes, I get it. Dinner was done in no time and the clean up was so quick! Not to mention how delicious the pasta turned out. I like my pasta al dente, when I tried one bucatini to see if they were ready, I almost fainted, they were just to die for! It reminded me of my mom’s fideua and to think of it, fideua is also pasta made in one pot, but that will be material for another post.

I am sure the key here is that you are basically cooking the pasta in the sauce or cooking both at the same time, the flavors integrate amazingly. The parmesan rind also plays an important part. I always freeze the parmesan rinds once we finish the cheese. They are a great addition for minestrone, soups and sauces. I use a piece of parmesan rind and chicken or vegetable broth when I want to give the food that flavor that makes you think the dish has been cooking for hours, when in fact it hasn’t.

I chose bucatini this time since it is a thick spaghetti and has a hole running through it, so that all the sauce’s flavors are going to stay right there? Yum!  I am not a big fan of a strong garlic flavor, I find it overwhelming. So I sauté the onions and the garlic for a couple minutes before I added the rest of the ingredients. That helped develop the sweetness of the onions and garlic.

And then,  in about 10 minutes, easy and quickly the bucatini were done and it was exquisite. The pasta had that stewy flavor from the garlic and onions and the rind of parmesan cheese. It was absolutely divine and in less than 20 minutes I managed to mise en place and make dinner. I hope that you try this dish, I am sure you will love it!

Here is what you need…

One Pot Bucatini Pomodoro

Yield: 4 full servings la

Ingredients

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12 ounces bucatini pasta
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, I used sunset medley
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, whole
1 ounce piece of parmesan rind
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 sprig basil, plus fresh leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions

In a large sided skillet sauté onions and garlic  with olive oil and  butter for a couple of minutes.

Whisk tomato paste in the water to dissolve and mix.

Add pasta,  basil, remaining olive oil, 1/2 to  1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, water and tomato paste mixture and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add tomatoes 2 minutes before pasta is ready, about 8 minutes after it starts boiling. Stir and turn pasta frequently until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Remove garlic clove, parmesan rind and wilted basil.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil,  parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Notes

You can add red pepper flakes to this recipe. Just add 1/2 tbsp to the water or broth.