Donal's one-pan pasta

This takes only a handful of ingredients, happens all in one pan and even if you've never cooked before, you are guaranteed pasta success.

Credit: Donal's Meals in Minutes

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

The core of this recipe comes down to the quality of ingredients. Get your hands on some good-quality tomatoes, big juicy ones, with lots of sweetness, and nice fresh basil. 

Ingredients

• 200 g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 50 g baby spinach leaves
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 200 g spaghetti
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 600 ml vegetable stock or water
• 50 g pecorino cheese, grated
• A small handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped
• Sea salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Arrange the tomato, spinach, onion, garlic and chilli across the base of a large frying pan. Nestle the spaghetti in the centre of the pan and pour over the olive oil and water or veg stock.
2. Place the pan over a medium high heat and bring the contents of the pan to the boil. Using a tongs, stir the pasta regularly and cook for about 9 minutes until it’s cooked and the liquid has nearly evaporated creating a sauce.
3. Remove the pan from heat and stir though the pecorino cheese and basil. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper to serve.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

The core of this recipe comes down to the quality of ingredients. Get your hands on some good-quality tomatoes, big juicy ones, with lots of sweetness, and nice fresh basil.