I tried Martha Stewart's one-pan pasta and had dinner on the table in 20 minutes

Business Insider

3 days ago

Martha Stewart told me she loves making her one-pan pasta when she only has 20 minutes.
Stewart's dish barely takes five minutes of prep and leaves almost zero mess.
Her one-pan pasta is very light and simple. I'd make it again, with a few changes.
Meghan Markle made headlines after making one-pan pasta on her Netflix show "With Love, Meghan," but she wasn't the first to bring it to the masses.
That honor goes to another very famous woman.
Martha Stewart told me that her magazine was the first to include one-pan pasta, and it's a recipe she swears by when she's short on time.
"It's delicious, and you can do so many different kinds of pasta and so many different flavorings," she said. "Add tomatoes, the spaghetti and basil, and a little bit of salt and water, the cheese at the end. It cooks in 20 minutes and you're done!"
Martha Stewart's one-pan pasta has made headlines in the past.
Stewart released the recipe in 2014 and demonstrated how to make it on her PBS show, "Martha Stewart's Cooking School."
"Here is the recipe that's taken the internet by storm," Stewart says in a clip posted on her official YouTube channel that year. "This is an odd dish because you'll never believe you can cook pasta in so little with all the other ingredients."
"It's fragrant and well-cooked and just ready to eat," she added. "Can you imagine? This is it!"
The dish requires just a few basic ingredients.
And there's very minimal prep.
Then, I thinly sliced my onion and a few cloves of garlic.
You know that scene in "Goodfellas," when the mobsters are all in jail together and make that beautiful Italian feast? That is exactly how I felt as I carefully sliced through my onion and garlic, watching as they nestled together just as they had in Martin Scorsese's famous shot.
I didn't use a razor like Paulie, but I was still pretty proud of my handiwork. Plus, my prep was already finished.
Unlike most pasta recipes, you don't bring the water to a boil before throwing the noodles into the pan.
Stewart's recipe requires that you throw everything into the pan at once for maximum ease.
I accidentally put the 4 ½ cups of water into the pan first instead of last, as Stewart does in her cooking demo. Thankfully, it didn't make a difference.
Then, I added my linguine, cherry tomatoes, onion, and garlic.
I topped it off with Stewart's required seasonings.
I added two basil leaves, two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes, two teaspoons of salt, and a few twists from my pepper grinder.
The tomatoes and basil popped brightly against the yellow of the linguine, reminding me of spring. I wondered if the dish would taste as fresh as it looked.
Then, I turned on the stove and struggled to mix everything.
Stewart's recipe instructs you to stir and turn the pasta "frequently with tongs," which was a challenge at the start.
I didn't want to break the pieces of linguine, so after a few failed attempts, I decided to let the pasta soften a little in the water.
After a few minutes had passed, the pasta was fully submerged.
The pan almost looked like a clear chicken noodle soup, or an Italian spin on pho. It felt weirdly therapeutic to watch the pasta move around in that clear broth as I delicately turned the linguine with my tongs.
And it wasn't long before the water started to really boil.
The top of the pan was covered in little bubbles as I continued to flip the pasta.
It was around this time that the entire kitchen filled with an incredibly fresh aroma, just as Stewart had promised.
I frequently checked to see if the pasta was al dente, per Stewart's instructions.
I used my tongs to grab a noodle from the pan and drop it into my ladle, splashing some cold water on it before taking a bite to see if the pasta was ready.
The second time I tested a noodle, around the 14-minute mark, I could tell that the flavors from the tomatoes, basil, and seasonings had infused into the linguine.
Overall, it took 20 minutes for Stewart's pasta to cook.
While Stewart's website said the pasta should take "about nine minutes," the recipe also states that the water will be "nearly evaporated" when the dish is ready.
It wasn't until the 20-minute mark that I could see a significant drop in the pan's water level, and it took just as long for the noodles to cook. Since Stewart herself had told me that the pasta is usually ready in about 20 minutes, I wasn't too worried about waiting it out.
After plating the noodles, I topped my pasta with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Stewart's one-pan pasta is really light, but the dish has a hint of richness thanks to the olive oil and tomatoes, which had a nice blistered texture.
While the dish tasted fresh — and paired great with my glass of rosé — I thought it was just a tad plain. I got a lot more flavor out of the noodles once I added extra pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
I would make Stewart's one-pan pasta again — with a few changes.
Next time, I'll add more basil, which I think could have really brightened up the flavors, as well as more tomatoes — my favorite part of the dish.
I saw in the comments on Stewart's recipe that some had tried the dish with chicken stock instead of water, which I think is a great idea. Others discussed sautéing the onions and garlic first. While that technically defeats the purpose of a one-pan recipe, I do think it's a modification worth trying.
Overall, I still enjoyed cooking Stewart's one-pan pasta, which surprised me given my ongoing case of kitchen fatigue. It was soothing to watch all those ingredients spin around one pan as my kitchen filled with delicious smells.