A Wildly Simple Pasta Trick for the Easiest Weeknight Noodles

The trick to the creamiest-possible pasta is trying less hard.

As in, fewer pots, less water, zero straining, and virtually no worrying about why, oh god, why sauce emulsification continues to be an elusive creature, rearing its head at will. Yes, I'm talking about one-pot pasta: cooking your noodles directly in their sauce, such that the released starch thickens the final product (in this case, rigatoni) handsomely, with the creamiest, glossiest jacket of flavor. No cream needed.

It's no new kid on the block. For starters, see: Mark Bittman's story about learning to treat pasta like risotto in Rome in 1976, Martha Stewart's famous cherry tomato rendition—the first recipe to appear if you Google "one pan pasta"—and our resident Genius Kristen Miglore's story on that same topic.

But one-pan pasta has its share of dissenters, too, and they're loud. Two-pot pasta ain't broke, and all that. Some call it gummy. Others say that just because Martha's doing it, doesn't mean you should.

Here's my take: There's a time, and a place. The time? When you want to turn humble pantry staples into a bowl of pasta coated in super velvety sauce, without the whole emulsification rigamarole. The place? Your stovetop, duh.

It's a natural extension of one of my other favorite pasta tricks, boiling your noodles in a shallow skillet for super starchy water. Except, you have half the dishes to wash. If you don't believe me, try my simple recipe below, a sort of play on Victoria Granof's Pasta con Ceci (think: less soupy, more saucy, bigger noodles, and the chickpeas are now shallots). It gets miles of body from cooked-down shallots, a kick from red chili flakes, and tons of concentrated flavor from briefly fried tomato paste. Oh, and extra umami from a serious dose of Parmesan.

I especially love this dish because it's crazy-customizable—make it with bacon, garlic, spices, a splash of red wine, peas, white beans, Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, or anything else that hits the spot. If you prefer, you can cook the tomato paste for longer before adding the noodles and water. You could swap yellow onion for the shallots, Calabrian chili paste for the flakes, Grana Padano for the Parm, or even broth for the water.

And use whatever short, cheerful noodle shape makes you feel like it's a Friday.

What's your go-to pasta for an easy weeknight dinner? Let us know in the comments.