one-pot pasta.

August 24, 2015

one-pot pasta for camping and tiny apartments | reading my tea leavesWhile we were in Maine we attempted one-pot pasta for the first time. I’ve been meaning to make it for forever and what better excuse than camping to try something new and easy and that dirtes only one pot to boot?

The result was a delicious, creamy, wholly satisfying meal that required nary a strainer or second pot. A camping dream, but a tiny apartment dream, too.
one-pot pasta for camping and tiny apartments | reading my tea leaves We opted for the classic approach ingredients-wise: olive oil, fresh tomatoes, sea salt, garlic, onion, and pasta. Because we were working with the cast iron pot that’s slightly on the small side, I improvised on the measurements that I found on a few different recipes that I found online. I also decided to add fresh mozzarella while camping. Minus a slight foible in filling the pot with a bit too much cheese in an enthusiastic attempt not to have cheesy leftovers to deal with, the experiement worked and then some. I recreated the same here, with slightly less mozzarella. I’d say you can follow measurements I’ve provided if you want to, but you can also wing it depending on the size of your pan, and you’ll probably end up a-ok.

To make preparation even easier, we used tiny sungold tomatoes and bocconcino mozzarella so that I didn’t even need to dice tomatoes or cheese. I’ve used them here, too, but you can certainly make the same thing with diced tomatoes and cheese.
one-pot pasta for camping and tiny apartments | reading my tea leaves One-Pot Pasta
adapted mostly from this recipe on Martha Stewart

What you need:
12 ounces of pasta (we used fusilli but you can use what you love)

1 small yellow onion, sliced

3-4 cloves of garlic
12 ounces sungold tomatoes (we didn’t slice them, but they all burst beautifully)
a small handful (or so) bocconcino mozzarella (or cubed mozzarella)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3-4 sprigs of basil, stalks removed
3 cups water (or enough to cover the ingredients)
olive oil
one-pot pasta for camping and tiny apartments | reading my tea leaves What to do:
Add all of the ingredients to the pot, finishing with a generous glug or four of olive oil. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes or so, until the water has evaporated and the pasta is al dente. Serve. Gloat.
one-pot pasta for camping and tiny apartments | reading my tea leaves If you want a mess-free approach to meal cleanup, forgo the mozzarella. Even with using less of it, it was a little bit of a bear to clean up in round-two, too.

More tomato-y stuff, HERE.

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11 Comments

  • Reply Nataliya August 24, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    This is brilliant!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!

  • Reply Nelson Bartley August 24, 2015 at 3:27 pm

    Or maybe add the cheese at the end? Especially if you are dumping all into a pasta bowl to serve. Dump, add cheese, stir, it would probably melt up perfectly with the hot pasta. Just thinking out loud.

    • Reply admin August 24, 2015 at 3:35 pm

      Ah, yes, of course! That's what I typically do with mozzarella added to pasta anyway! Genius solution for this, too!

    • Reply Heather Leigh August 24, 2015 at 10:01 pm

      I was thinking the same thing as well! Some fresh shaved parm on top would be great!

  • Reply Jenn Wisbeck August 24, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    Sounds delicious!

    I dump my cheese on once it hits the plate, and small enough pieces always melt just fine. Lets people control how much cheese they want, and if you put it on top before sauce (or in the middle if no additional sauce) it also helps keep the cheese from gluing itself to the plates- I hate trying to get cheese off! I also always add fresh basil right before serving (vs cooking it in the sauce) which keeps the flavor really distinct.

  • Reply Danny August 25, 2015 at 2:32 pm

    A tip for cleaning up cheese: use cold water and a scrubber until all of the cheese is off and then you can use hot water to clean the pan! Don't forget to rinse the scrubber in cold too.

  • Reply Jess Barrow August 30, 2015 at 11:06 pm

    Made this tonight and it was great! Thanks for sharing!

  • Reply Liz February 15, 2016 at 9:23 am

    I’m on the goosehunt for the safest yet longest-lasting cookware. What do you use?

    • Reply Erin Boyle February 15, 2016 at 10:58 am

      I write about specifics in my book, but I think the goose chase can be stopped quickly: solid cast iron pans last forever and once well-seasoned are virtually non-stick. A heavy bottomed stainless steel sauce pan or two is similarly long-lasting. An enamel cast-iron dutch oven can be used to bake bread, simmer soup, roast a chicken, and boil water. It will also outlast all of us!

  • Reply Anne July 18, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    Hi Erin, excited to try out this recipe! One question… Do you cook the noodles before you put it all in one pot? Thanks!

    • Reply Erin Boyle July 19, 2016 at 7:34 am

      Don’t cook the pasta! (But do leave out the cheese ’til after everything’s cooked to make clean-up easier!)

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