One-Pot Pasta La Vista Baby

I’ve been experimenting with one-pot pasta dishes recently. I had a lot of doubts that these one-pot dishes could yield anything as delicious as my multi-vessel extravaganzas, but the more I try, the more success I’m finding, and I can’t argue with fewer dishes to clean.

I decided to do this lasagna-inspired pasta for a party and was really happy with the result. The ricotta cheese is the secret to making it taste like lasagna. Besides that, the variations you can try are endless (veggies, meats, spices – I encourage experimentation).

To be honest, I’ve never had a lot of success making lasagna (not that I’ve ever tried very hard), but after making this recipe, I may never need to sweat over those pesky lasagna layers again. I’m saved! Long live pasta.

To celebrate, here’s a lovely song by Lianne La Havas called “What You Don’t Do.” I’ve been listening to it a lot recently and it never gets old:

Now, onto this easy pasta dish!

Tomato Pasta La Vista Baby

Good for an 8 to 10 person potluck.
(Borrowed from Damn Delicious)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 Italian sausage links, casing removed (or one package of Italian veggie ground round for vegetarians)
• 27 ounce (796 milliliter) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato sauce (one 8 ounce or 240 milliliter can)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 a head of broccoli, broken into small florets (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 8 ounces (225 grams) bowtie pasta
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 90 grams or 3 ounces)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 30 grams or 1 ounce)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Cook the Italian sausage until browned, crumbling it as it cooks.
2. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basic, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to low boil, then stir in the pasta, broccoli, zucchini and water. Return to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook covered for about 15 to 17 minutes
3. Stir in the mozzarella and Parmesan until well combined and melted through. Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes to give it time to thicken. Spoon the ricotta cheese on top. Cover tightly with the pot lid and bring to the potluck in a heat-friendly tote. Garnish with parsley when ready to serve.