One pot pasta

I decided to try another recipe from SortedFood and it really is as easy as it sounds.  You can find the recipe here http://sortedfood.com/#!/onepotpasta/ but it really is as simple as throwing everything into a saucepan.

I used exactly what they said in the recipe but halved it as I was only cooking for 2 people.  So I chopped up half an onion, finely chopped a couple of garlic cloves, halved a small handful of olives (I think you need more than they suggest), chopped a handful of roasted peppers (I bought a jar of these and once again, I think you need more than they suggest), chopped up a couple of sun-dried tomatoes, and gathered 100ml passata (a type of tomato sauce that isn't expensive and that you can buy in cartons from Sainsbury's), some olive oil, a tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (don't add too many), 1/2 small bunch fresh basil, 200g farfalle (bowtie) pasta.

Then you literally put the pasta in the pan, put everything on top, season and add 600ml water, bring to the boil, cover and turn the heat down so it simmers for 15 minutes (or until the pasta is cooked to your liking).

Everything in one pot

My comment on this recipe is be careful when adding the chilli flakes, I added slightly too many and it came out quite spicy!  If in doubt add a very small amount to begin with, leave to cook and if when you come to eat it you don't think there's enough add a few more at the end.  If it is too spicy then you can do what we did and eat it with a dollop or two of crème fraîche to help combat the spice.

The finished result - one pot pasta

The thing I love about this recipe was that it took about 10 mins to prepare and 15 mins to cook, but I just left the pot on the heat and did some reading while it was cooking and made sure I checked on it every 5 mins to give it a bit of a stir.  It really was that simple.  This is one dish that I will definitely be repeating.