One pot pasta

I initially spotted a version of this recipe on Martha Stewart's website, intrigued I thought I would give this a go. Apparently cooking pasta and its sauce in the same pan is a traditional way of cooking pasta in the Puglia region of Italy, given that I love Italian food and its saves washing up what had I to lose. I haven't slavishy followed Martha's recipe and have created my own variation.

What you need

I am making a meal for 2 people

• 3oz of dried pasta per person (penne, spaghetti, farfelle, etc)
• Tin of chopped tomatoes
• Handful of fresh basil
• Pinch of dried oregano
• Pinch of chilli
• Chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
• 1 small white onion - finely sliced
• Glug of olive oil
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese - to serve (freshly grated)

You will also need a large heavy cooking pot, I used my cast iron pot with a lid.

What you do

• Place everything in pan (except the parmesan)
• Bring to the simmer, cover and stir to prevent sticking every few minutes.
• Once the pasta is nearly tender, remove the lid, give it a stir and then continue to simmer until most of the moisture have come off the dish.
• Serve at once with freshly grated parmesan.

I was impressed by this dish as the pasta is cooked al dente and has a lovely creamy coating sauce on it. You could also add chopped cooked chicken, bacon or prawns at the end of the cooking if you want to up the protein content of the dish. Why not give it a try.