One-Pot Spaghetti With Cherry Tomatoes and Kale

It's difficult to tell sarcasm on the internet (maybe the author is making fun of people who demand fresh pasta always?) but to any concerned Americans: As an Italian, I can promise we normally use dry pasta in all our famous pasta recipes that you love so much. Our food is much more simple than food snobs try to pretend it is, and that's why it's so good!

I like very spicy food, so mine has a lot of garlic, red chili pepper flakes, etc. The first time I made this was for a Vegan friend who was visiting. In place of Parmesan, I placed dry roasted almonds--unsalted--in my food processor and pulsed until they were the texture of fine meal. I stirred this into my finished dish and everybody thought it was cheese. It added protein to the dish and I omitted the one thing that made it non-Vegan--the Parmesan.

People: The whole point of the dish is the way the pasta is cooked! That’s what gives it distinctiveness. You can cook it traditionally but then it’s not this dish. I’m single and it gave me 4 meals. Loved it

I think this is a fine recipe, that may be supplemented with just about any green such as arugula, swiss chard, etc. I think the normal way to cook pasta is the way to go here. I have found it is easier to add the ingredients after the pasta has been cooked "very" al dente to get the best flavor and consistency. This is an old and simple technique, which has worked in this and in many recipes.

One pot pasta is a classic. I have added onion & garlic which I sautee briefly in the skillet before I add pasta water, tomatoes, herbs & spices & a splash of wine toward the end of cooking. I like & really never thought to add kale or spinach, but why not & why limit your imagination. Great idea. When using cherry tomatoes, I leave them whole.

Marc, it's one pot if you're smart, and you use your electric kettle to boil the water.
And even if you boiled the water in a pot, that pot doesn't need to be washed so it doesn't count.

Cooked as presented and it was delicious. The sauce was silky and delicate; the partakers ecstatic. (Yuck? -- Lotti must have screwed up somehow) Agree that just about any green will work -- I used beet greens, 'cuz I had them.

I made this last night - it was fantastic! Who knew such a simple dish could be so delicious! I made it exactly as written, but added 1/2 a recipe more to serve more people. I would recommend using this method rather than the traditional way of making pasta. The pasta was creamy and smooth and the flavors were blended perfectly. I don't want to make pasta the traditional way any more! It would be easy to add other greens if desired. Great recipe - this will be a regular in our house.

This really hit the spot last night! I made changes based on what was on hand: whole wheat spaghetti, vegetable broth (aka refrigerator soup), arugula instead of kale, the last handful of homegrown tomatoes (chopped), and I added 1 Italian sausage. I brown the sausage meat (remove casing), and then remove from pan. Add the broth to the same pan, bring to a boil. Add pasta, tomatoes, zest, seasonings. After the pasta was cooked, I added the arugula, let it cook down, and finally the sausage.

Is there no instruction for using fresh pasta? What have we become? I would not even use dry pasta on a camping trip.

Why, Oh Why, Oh Why, Oh Why, Oh Why never do these recipes specify fresh pasta?

All is lost. There is nothing left for me in this world. If you need me, you will find my corpse standing in front of my refrigerator, staring at the formerly fresh pasta, which, but for the brutality and pathos of modern food writers, could have been a sublime, one-pot repast.

Goodbye forever.

I have switched over to cooking spaghetti in a large shallow pan with just enough cold water to cover the noodles. You can prepare your sauce while the noodles are cooking (about 15 minutes). I add some salt to the water, after it has boiled for about 10 minutes ( you don't need to salt the water heavily because there is less water to dilute it.
The time it takes to boil water is eliminated and you do not waste excess water.

Add kale and tomatoes at the end.

We love this. Followed advice to saute half an onion and some garlic to fill out the flavor profile and added a little more parmesan to help with thickening. No way you can get the same hearty texture by cooking spaghetti separately and incorporating into the other ingredients. It needs the starch.

This is one of those generic recipes that can go in a hundred different directions. The main thing is the technique for cooking the pasta, which may not be familiar to everyone. As for the veggies, nearly anything can be used, even leftover salad from the night before. For protein, throw in a little ricotta, cottage cheese, or other similar cheese at the end. For extra richness, throw in a dash of heavy cream.

I just did, using Ronzoni's gluten-free spaghetti. I was concerned, because directions for the spaghetti emphasize using lots of boiling water and rinsing afterward. But I forged ahead, and we liked the dish a lot. I only used the zest of one lemon, and that was plenty. I also added a small amount of anchovy paste when I added the kale. It's important to keep stirring the dish with tongs to prevent the spaghetti sticking to each other and to the pot.

I really enjoyed this recipe but as an Italian I just couldn’t make myself cook the pasta in the pan with everything else. I cooked the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water and drained 1 minute before time. I then added it to the pan with all the ingredients and a cup of pasta water.