Recipe: One pot pasta

The simplicity of a one-pot meal is ideal for anyone who hates doing dishes, doesn’t have time to create elaborate meals and wants a good meal within 20 minutes of walking in the door. Most days, I’m all of the above.

There are days when I gladly spend an inordinate amount of time around the kitchen cooking up a storm, but more often than not I want something quick and easy. In the middle of training, these quick-fix meals have to be nutritious. Kraft Dinner is a quick-fix meal, but not exactly nutritionally sound.

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In my experience, people seem to have this skewed idea that healthy needs to be complex and expensive. I beg to differ. Using fresh ingredients can pack a simple dish with unparalleled flavours without having to load on store bought sauces, cheese or any other processed taste ‘enhancers’. In this particular dish, the fresh herbs, vegetables and cheese create a tasty meal that’s ready in 20 minutes. Nothing beats that.

One pot pasta

Ingredients:

– 1 package (354 g) whole-wheat spaghetti
– 1 large onion, thinly sliced
– 3 cups grape tomatoes, halved
– 2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
– 2 tsp minced garlic
– Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
– 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan

Directions:

– In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, onion, tomatoes, basil, garlic and 4 ½ cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
– Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes.
– Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan.
– Serve immediately.

How-to video

RELATED: See more recipes from Doerksen here.