Martha's One Pan Wonder Pasta

I’m constantly searching for interesting recipes to cook and experiment with and every now and then I come across a recipe that stops me in my tracks. This recipe blows my mind. It is just impossible. Martha Stewart’s one pan wonder-pasta has got the internet buzzing, mainly because it is prepared in just 10 minutes but mostly because it goes against everything you and I have ever been told about cooking pasta. Here’s why:

ONE:The pasta is cooked in a wide, shallow pan not a tall, big pot.

TWO: The raw pasta is covered with cold water. (Sorry, what? Cold water? Yes, you read right – no boiling, salted water here.)

THREE: All the ingredients are cooked together, the pasta, everything in one go.

I was beginning to think Martha might have lost her mind. But Martha Stewart is one of my favourite food icons, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt and put the recipe to the test and I hate to say it, but this is pretty good. While it’s presence in the world is probably insulting every Italian out there, I must admit it’s an amazingly quick, delicious meal. Dinner on the table in 10 minutes? Yes please! 
Just make sure you don't invite any Italians over when you serve it!  

One pan wonder-pasta

Recipe by Martha Stewart

Serves 4

340g linguine

340g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

4 1/2 cups water

Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red chilli flakes, basil, oil, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and water in a large pan.

Bring to a boil over high heat and boil the mixture, stirring and turning the pasta frequently with tongs, until the pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls and garnish with basil.

Serve with olive oil and Parmesan. 

Deep-fried ravioli with baked feta and pesto

Deep-fried ravioli - I must be going crazy right? 
I first got the idea to deep-fry the little pasta pockets when a memory came flooding back to me. It is one where my sister and I are sitting under the tablecloth of a table laden with fresh vegetables from my parent’s farm at a farmer’s market one chilly morning. We sat huddled together, stuffing sugary deep-fried pastries from a paper bag into our mouths. I loved those little morsels so much; they were crispy and sweet and so simple. The little old Italian lady who sold them each morning frugally kept the scraps leftover from her batches of fresh tortellini or fettuccini and transformed them into a delicacy by dunking them in hot oil and dredging them in icing sugar. I now know they’re called crostoli, but the memory gave me the idea to give filled pasta the same treatment (minus the sugar, of course). Then I discovered that everyone had been doing this already and nobody told me! So now, I'm sharing the joys of deep-fried pasta with you. 

I like to call this creation my posh chip ‘n dip because it’s fancy enough to look like you went to some effort, but doesn’t involve any form of kitchen slavery. Perfect with a glass of wine and good company to share it with.

Crispy ravioli bites with pesto-baked feta

Serves 4

2 slabs feta cheese, drained

Olive oil

3-4 springs thyme

4-5 garlic cloves, whole

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tub Mediterranean Delicacies Basil Pesto

250g store-bought fresh butternut or cheese ravioli

Oil, for deep-frying

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the feta on a large piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, a few sprigs of thyme and some whole garlic cloves, season well before wrapping up and baking for 10-15 minutes or until soft.

TIP You could easily do this on the braai - pop the foil parcel over the coals and you'll have a delicious warm dip in a few minutes. Oh, and don't forget to play around with flavours - chilli, smoked paprika, lemon zest - you get the idea...

Deep-fry the ravioli in hot oil (about 180C) until golden brown and crisp, then drain on paper towel. 

Serve the warm feta drizzled with lashings of basil pesto and the crispy ravioli for dipping.

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 






{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.

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Tomato, sausage and lentil cassoulet with basil

Everybody has those ‘clear-out-the-fridge’ days and more often than not they happen at the end of the month. I relish the challenge of these days! For me, a cook is only worth his or her salt if they can turn the most average ingredients into something utterly delicious. It’s easy to walk into a supermarket with a recipe and then purchase the freshest ingredients, but to open a half-bare cupboard and turn a few odds ‘n ends into a special meal is tricky. This is my quick, budget version of cassoulet which is really a very fancy French name for meat and bean stew. Traditional cassoulet is usually made with sausages and white beans, mine however features barley and lentils (because that’s what I had in my cupboard). What is your finest ‘clear-out-the-fridge’ creation?

Photography and styling by Katelyn Williams

Tomato, sausage and lentil cassoulet with basil

Serves 4

Olive oil

300g cocktail pork sausages

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 large garlic clove, crushed

½ glass white wine (drink the rest of the bottle)

2 bay leaves

1 cup baby tomatoes, halved

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tin green lentils, drained

1 cup cooked barley

salt and freshly ground black pepper

handful fresh basil leaves

crumbled feta, to serve

Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the pork sausages over medium low heat until golden and cooked through. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow to evaporate completely. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes (halved and tinned) with the paprika. Allow to simmer gently and reduce slightly. Add the lentils and barley and season well.  Serve in bowls with torn fresh basil leaves and crumbled feta. 

And yes, every now and then I do take a break between eating chocolate and cupcakes to cook something savoury and healthy :)

Quick boerewors sausage saute

I love grocery shopping – probably more than the next person, but we’ve all experienced those annoying people who sneak a peek into your trolley. Well, that’s me. When I’m at the supermarket, I look into your trolley. Sometimes I am inspired (a healthy trolley will have me ashamedly putting back the chips), sometimes I’m appalled at what I see (for instance, do you really need all those instant MSG-laced sauces?). Occasionally I am jealous (when I spot a Lindt slab poking out of your groceries, but I’m on a diet) and quite often I am reminded of something I almost forgot to buy myself. Other people’s shopping just fascinates me. You can tell so much from a person from what they stock up on – I will take a guess at your cooking skills, your marital status, whether or not you have kids, how old those kids are, your eating habits, how often you go shopping, which brands you favour, your plans for that evening and what you’re going to be making for dinner. More often than not, this is the best part – to guess what you’re going to whip up for dinner with those ingredients. So often, this gives me a great idea and I promptly change my own dinner for the evening. Which is precisely what happened to this recipe. What started out as bacon and tomato pasta sauce in my basket, quickly turned in to this boerewors creation when I spotted the sausage poking out of a fellow shoppers trolley and made a dash to the meat section. So, enjoy this delicious recipe, and don’t pretend you wouldn’t sneak a peak into my trolley if you had the chance!

Photography by Christelle Botha for Zone magazine

Quick boerewors sausage saute

Serves 4

1/2 packet streaky bacon

1 x punnet boerewors

¼ bottle of red wine

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 x tin tomato, onion and garlic mix

Handful dried mushrooms, rehydrated with 1 cup boiling water

4-5 slices white bread (preferably stale or day-old), torn in pieces

¼ cup melted butter or oil

Heat a large cast iron pan over medium coals or a gas stove. Snip the bacon into bits using a pair of kitchen scissors and fry the bacon in the pan until golden. Add the boerewors and cook for a few minutes before turning, until golden. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and allow to simmer until almost evaporated before adding the herbs and tomato mix. Add the reconstituted mushrooms along with any liquid and allow to reduce until thickened. Toss the torn bread pieces in the melted butter or oil and arrange over the top of the boerewors. Cover with a lid, placing a few coals on top of the lid, and allow to bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bread is crisp and golden before serving.