A note to all non-cooks or those who think they can’t cook: this recipe requires no cooking skills other than slicing some tomatoes and onions, chopping some garlic, and putting everything in a pan!
A few weeks ago, I stopped by my friend, Richard’s, home on a cold and very wet Saturday afternoon. He had the latest issue of Martha Stewart’s Living magazine (June 2013) and he wanted to cook lunch together. But honestly, there wasn’t much for me to do, he put some pasta, sliced onions, minced garlic, and basil in a skillet, added some water, brought it to a boil, and I stirred it occasionally. It was delicious, and lunch for four on that cold afternoon was perfect, it was warm and filled us all up.
So I decided to go home and recreate this with a few twists of my own. First off, I had three very sad-looking zucchinis that either needed to be eaten that night or tossed, so I sliced them and added them to the pan. I upped the garlic and basil, and added a half-cup of white wine and a parmesan rind that I pulled out of the freezer. If you don’t have that, don’t worry, just top the finished pasta with cheese (I discovered as I was about to serve I didn’t have any). This dish is first off easy, but it’s also a nice blend of the vegetables in a flavorful sauce. On yet another cold and rainy evening, served with a nice green salad, this was a quick meal that is perfect for a weeknight dinner!
One Skillet Pasta
Inspired by the June 2013 recipe “One Pan Pasta” published in Martha Stewart Living.
Serves 4-5 eaters.
¾ of a box of linguine, or 12 ounces
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
A big handful of basil
1 onion, thinly sliced
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
3 small zucchini, sliced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 ½ cups water
½ cup white wine (optional. If you aren’t using the wine, add 4 cups water total)
1 big skillet
To the pan, add the linguine, tomatoes, basil, onion, garlic, zucchini, and olive oil. Add water and wine, if using. Bring to a boil then turn to simmer. Stir occasionally and cook until pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes or so. Serve in large bowls and top with parmesan cheese.
My Vermont Kitchen 
Looks amazingly good.
I hope you like this if you decide to make it! 🙂
I’m sure I would.
I love quick and easy pasta recipes. 🙂
And this is one of the easiest! 🙂 I hope you like it if you make it!
Sounds so easy and looks delicious!
Thank you, Carol! 🙂
Combination of veg, pasta and production ease makes this very appealing! But did I get this right: the pasta is boiled with all the veggies in the same pot? Do the veggies not taste “soggy”? It’s not fresh pasta you’d use, is it?
Yes, it is dried pasta. Admittedly, the zucchini did get a bit on the soggy side, but I’m one who isn’t bothered by that. (I should have mentioned that!) But you can always leave out the veggies and just 4 1/2 cups of water or water/wine combo to make up for the missing veggies! 🙂
Drain or does the water evaporate??? And you thought this was easy!
Carol, no worries! Basically, the water makes a “sauce,” so to speak. It cooks the pasta and does basically evaporate down, but when I made it, there was still a little bit left. If you find it too watery when the pasta is done, you can always drain a little bit out. I hope this helps! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
LOL – sometimes I scare myself. Got thinking about the amount of water and realized there’s no problem here! Oh, you’ll teach me to be a better cook yet.
Delicious, healthy and very easy. Added some red and yellow peppers (I love them) and scallions as that’s what I had. Paul thought it was great. I know this because he agreed to eat the leftovers rather than letting me take them to work.
Peppers is a great addition, Carol! I’m so glad you enjoyed this, it sounds like it was a solid success!
It was…perfect!
🙂 Yay! A success! I’m so happy!
Gorgeous photos and perfect recipe..thanks Vernont chef xxx
Thank you, Nancy! 🙂