One-pot.
My favourite words when it comes to time to prep for dinner.
I will say it again.
ONE-POT.
Sigh. 🙂
Today I wanted simplicity.
That translates to I-am-feeling-a-tad-lazy.
So I thought a pasta with few ingredients but strong flavors was the way to go.
I picked bacon (heart beats a bit faster) and tomato.
Very, very simple. But very, very delicious.
And very, very easy to cook. Here’s how.
In a heavy-bottom pan, brown the bacon in a little olive oil. If you want less splatter, you can add some water. Sounds bizarre but it works!
Once the bacon bits are brown, transfer them into a bowl and set this aside.
In the same pan, add the diced onion and cook for 30 seconds. Add the minced garlic and cook a further 30 seconds.
Add chicken stock. (See here for my notes on Chicken stock.)
Use your spatula to gently scrape the bottom of the pan. The brown bits that were stuck (flavor!!) will come off.
Blitz chopped tomato (or use tomato puree – it all depends on which texture you prefer) and add into the pan.
Bring this to a boil and add the pasta. I used pasta curls but you can use any pasta you like.
Give everything a good stir, reduce the heat and simmer this for about 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Taste the pasta to find the done-ness you prefer. The sauce would have thickened slightly as well from the starch that was released when the pasta was cooking. If the sauce is too tart, add a little sugar to balance the flavor.
Turn off the heat, season with salt (if needed), chili flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
Sprinkle the bacon on the pasta and top with chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, as well as grated Parmesan before serving.
That is it.
An easy-peasy one-pot pasta.
Deliciousness without the fuss.
I very like!
- 5 rashes streaky bacon, sliced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 250g pasta - I used pasta curls
- 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 can ( ) chopped tomato, blitzed (Or use tomato puree)
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Salt, to taste
- Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- In a heavy-bottom pan, brown the bacon in a little olive oil.
- Once the bacon bits are brown, transfer them into a bowl and set this aside.
- In the same pan, add the diced onion and cook for 30 seconds. Add the minced garlic and cook a further 30 seconds.
- Add chicken stock. Use your spatula to gently scrape the bottom of the pan. The brown bits that were stuck (flavor!!) will come off.
- Blitz chopped tomato (or use tomato puree – it all depends on which texture you prefer) and add into the pan. Bring this to a boil and add the pasta. I used pasta curls but you can use any pasta you like.
- Give everything a good stir, reduce the heat and simmer this for about 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Taste the pasta to find the done-ness you prefer. The sauce would have thickened slightly as well from the starch that was released when the pasta was cooking. If the sauce is too tart, add a little sugar to balance the flavor.
- Turn off the heat, season with salt (if needed), chili flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
- Sprinkle the bacon on the pasta and top with chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, as well as grated Parmesan before serving.
