When I found out I was going to interview Nora Singley, she of the internet sensation One Pan Pasta I was excited but skeptical. My maturation as a cook happened in the Italian kitchen so I cook in pretty tried and true traditional ways. The pasta cooking instructions for every single one of my cookbooks always begins the same way. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. So what was I to think about this quirky method of putting a small amount of water in a pan with raw pasta and the condiments to flavor the sauce? Yep, skeptical. Except for one little niggling thought. Nora learned this technique from a restauranteur in Puglia who learned it from his mother who made all her sauces this way. The Pugliese eat a fair amount of pasta. Was I to believe that there was this one misguided woman making horrible pasta for her family everyday? Not a chance.
As usual, time got away from me. The day of the interview with Nora arrived and I hadn’t yet tried the recipe. So I got out of bed and made it for breakfast. Oh. My. God. It was beyond delicious. I’m a crazy al dente fan and when I say al dente I don’t mean crunchy. I mean that elusive moment when your teeth can bite through the pasta and it still has a meaty texture to it. It’s completely cooked, but isn’t yet overly yielding. With this method you can literally pick your al dente moment. No sauce slips onto the plate. Every bit ends up in your mouth. I’ve already made it for non-believing Italian friends who get kind of crazy watching the magic in the pan toward the end of the cooking process.
You’ll notice that I used sauce instead of chopped tomatoes and herbs. I can enough sauce every summer to last me the whole year. For this experiment I grabbed one of my jars of puttanesca sauce. That’s why you see little black specks in the sauce. It’s the olives. But you could use any ready made sauce you love. Just make sure it’s really good because that flavor will literally be inside the pasta noodles.
The recipe is below and here is my interview with Nora Singley.
| Servings |
- 1 to 2 cups water adjust as the pasta cooks
- 1/2 lb imported Italian spaghetti
- 2 cups good red sauce
- 1-2 cloves peeled garlic thinly sliced
- 1/4 onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- grated parmesan or pecorino to taste
Ingredients
| |
- Pick a skillet that allows your long pasta to lay flat. If you use a larger diameter skillet you will need more water, but the larger surface will allow for faster evaporation so it all works out. You can also break the pasta in half (gasp!) if you only have smaller pans.
- Put the water in the pan. Then the pasta, the sauce and all your other ingredients. Try not to feel like you are sinning.
- Turn the heat on so that the water starts to boil. Gently move the pasta around in the boiling liquid so that all the ingredients mix with the water. Adjust the heat so it never goes below a lively simmer. It's very important to cook the starch properly.
- As the hot liquid penetrates the pasta it will soften. As it does keep it moving around the pan. You'll notice that the liquid toward the edges of the pan will thicken first, so keep it in play. Stir it back into the center.
- And then like magic the liquid has penetrated the pasta enough to cook it through. And it turns into sauce thickened with the pasta starch and the noodles are perfectly coated.
My mother used to make something that operates on the same principle, but there was no stirring involved. “Chicken and bows” – just as many chicken wings as will fit in 1 layer in an electric skillet (browned in Wesson oil – it was the 60s after all); remove to a plate; add a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of water and a pound of farfalla. Chicken back on top and cook until the pasta is cooked and you’re left with “gravy”. Hmmmm…might even be good made with real food.
Ah yes! I remember those casseroles. I think my mom’s version was chicken, apricot jam, the soup and rice instead of pasta.
Could you do something like this with fresh pasta? Obviously you would cook for much less time and maybe less water?
I wouldn’t. So much of the starch in fresh pasta is bound up with the eggs, that I’m not sure that result would be worth the risk of mushiness. If you try it please report back.
Great idea! My teenage son wants meat, meat and more meat. What are your ideas on incorporating protein into the mix? Cook it first and then add the remaining ingredients on top and proceed, or add it in afterwards?
Hi Lynn. Depends on the protein. Quick cooking protein that’s not too thick like, slivers of chicken or shrimp or sausage can just be cut up and added into the mix.