Pasta Archives – Karyn's Kitchen

Making Skillet Pasta in a Bad Airbnb

No stockpot? No problem. You can make pasta in a skillet.

Who agrees that making pasta is just about the easiest thing ever? It can be the quickest and most satisfying meal as long as you don’t labor over a slow cooking sauce. That makes it perfect for preparing on vacation…. except when your airbnb rental doesn’t have a proper pot for boiling pasta water!

Listen up, hosts of short-term rentals. A big stock pot is one of the most necessary items to provide in a kitchen where guests are expected to prepare their own meals. Upon arrival to any new destination where I’ll be spending more than a night or two, I am bound to pick up a few basic essentials. For me that includes grapeseed oil, garlic, pasta, eggs and a fresh vegetable or two. My most recent Airbnb experience required some ingenuity as there was very little in the way of kitchen equipment. So, lacking a big pot, I learned to make skillet pasta. You know I’m always up for a challenge to try doing something in a new way!

How I Made Skillet Pasta With Rapini

First, I boiled water in the small saucepan that I had. Breaking the dry spaghetti in half so that it would fit in a skillet, I placed it in the bottom of an empty one. In the other skillet, I blanched some cut rapini or broccoli rabe. After draining, I sauteed it in grapeseed oil with chopped garlic. Once the water in the saucepan boiled, I poured it into the skillet with the spaghetti and turned the burner on to simmer. This took longer than boiling in a big pot, but it worked out just fine.

spaghetti with simmering water in a skillet, rapini cooking in another skillet and raw eggs in a white bowl.

Not knowing how this process would work exactly, I kept some water boiling on the back burner while I simmered the pasta so that I could add more water as needed. My idea was to have very little water remaining by the time the pasta was al dente and then to toss it with the rapini. Then I realized I needed a protein, so I whisked a couple of eggs together…using a fork, of course. You didn’t think a kitchen without a stockpot had a whisk, did you?! LOL.

Once the pasta was done, I spooned some of the hot water into the raw egg mixture while whisking. I wanted to temper the eggs so that they would gently cook without becoming scrambled. Tossing the tempered eggs with the cooked pasta and rapini finished their cooking process and yielded a richness to this simple meal of skillet pasta with rapini. Yum. My husband said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some crusty garlic bread?” LOL. I reminded him it was like camping in this bad Airbnb that didn’t even have a coffee maker and I had done quite enough, thank you. Bless his heart. He got the message. He picked up some delicious Korean take-out the next night.

Is the idea of cooking eggs this way with pasta new to you? Try My Awesome Carbonara next.

How Do You Eat Greens? Swiss Chard is Easy and Delicious

Spice up greens according to your mood and the season. Create something wonderful with everyday ingredients combined in a new way.

Do you like to eat greens or want to know how to incorporate more into your diet? First, you have to make sure you buy a variety of them when you go grocery shopping. Swiss chard, kale, beet greens, collards, dandelion, radish, mustard etc. I love them all and make sure to stock up and use them in the appropriate order so that nothing goes to waste. Start with your tenderest greens and save the hardier ones for later in the week or next. I generally find swiss chard to be good for about a week in my fridge and I especially love to buy the red or rainbow chard because they’re so beautiful.

After defrosting some ground turkey for dinner, I realized I had some chard that needed to be used up. Time to eat greens. My anchor ingredients had been chosen. What should I do with those items? Michael requested pasta, so that defined the direction I would go with this meal. What else could round out this dish? I had part of a can of peeled tomatoes and the end of a carton of chicken broth left in the fridge, so I pulled those out. I was in the mood for some warming spices, so I took a few out of my cabinet. Cooking without a recipe is this simple. Experiment with combining different ingredients to find out how much you like to eat greens.

Putting It All Together

While I boiled the water for the linguine, I browned the ground turkey in a large skillet with grapeseed oil. Then I added some chopped onion and garlic to sauté. Seasoned with salt, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Poured in some red wine, scraping up all the browned bits to let that simmer and reduce. I added a couple of those canned tomatoes and smashed them into the mixture. Then added the chicken broth. At this point, I decided to add a little more depth of flavor with part of a chicken liver from my treasure chest of freezer gems. So I chiseled out a couple of small chunks with a butter knife and tossed them into the sauce, smashing them to incorporate as they cooked. Just before the noodles were done, I added the chard and covered so it could wilt down.

Using tongs, I removed the pasta from the boiling pot and mixed them with the sauce in the skillet. This was a delicious meal, prompting my husband to ask what spices I used. I don’t use cloves often enough and they’re amazing with meat and greens like this. Allspice and nutmeg also. Let me know what you think and how you like to eat greens.

Ingredients:

pasta
grapeseed oil
ground turkey
swiss chard
onion
garlic
canned tomatoes
chicken broth
dry red wine
chicken liver
cloves
allspice
nutmeg
salt

Want to experiment with beet greens? Read this next for inspiration.

6 Minute 6 Ingredient Simple Summer Pasta

Looking for summer pasta recipes? Learn to create something delicious and quick with just a few simple ingredients.

Wouldn’t you agree that summer means less is more? It’s especially true when it comes to food. With fresh produce at its peak, it needs very little embellishment before serving. Fewer ingredients and less time in the kitchen equal more time savoring simple pleasures like this 6 minute 6 ingredient summer pasta dish.

This thin spaghetti takes 6 minutes to boil, which was plenty of time to cook the other ingredients in a deep skillet. First, peel your shrimp and put the shells into a saucepan with water to boil. Shrimp stock is priceless and it’s integral to this dish in my opinion. Always boil your shells and freeze the stock for later if you’re not planning to use it right away. What if you bought shrimp that was already peeled? It’s not ideal, but it will work. You can make a quick fish stock using dried bonito flakes from an Asian market or maybe some clam juice. A little chicken broth would do in a pinch.

Ingredients for 2 Main Dish Servings of Summer Pasta:

half a box of thin spaghetti
3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
10 jumbo shrimp, peeled (shells boiled in water)
5 cloves garlic, minced
a couple glugs of olive oil
a palm full of chopped fresh basil

I started by putting garlic, tomatoes and olive oil into a skillet and cooking on high for a couple of minutes before adding shrimp that I had seasoned with salt. Cooked a few more minutes until shrimp had turned pink and opaque, meaning they were finished. With tongs, I pulled al dente pasta out of its boiling pot and into the skillet of sauce. Tossing with tomatoes and shrimp and judging how much liquid to add, I poured in some strained shrimp stock that had been boiling on the back burner. You could whisk in a smidgeon of butter if you were so inclined.

Here’s where intuitive cooking comes in: How you treat your tomatoes depends on their quality. If mine had been a bit juicier, I might not have cooked them at all. Instead, I would have cooked the shrimp in garlic and olive oil and added tomatoes at the end with the shrimp stock just to warm through. In this case, cooking the tomatoes for a short amount of time allowed them to slump down and release some juicy goodness.

6 ingredient pasta with shrimp in a white bowl. table set for two

Ready to try something similar with clams or mussels? Find out How to Get Skillful With Shellfish next.

What do you think? Are you cooking without a recipe yet? With fresh, quality ingredients, it’s so easy to create a delicious meal without any fuss. Fish filets also cook quickly and pair with pasta with ease. Read My Easy Process For Breezy Success With Fish for more ideas on this topic.

Be Transported to Amalfi With This Great Pasta

Get inspired to cook without recipes and create a delicious, simple meal with pasta and bacon.

Wondering what to cook for dinner tonight? Easy Bucatini Amatriciana is for you. It’s made of items you probably already have on hand. Bacon is a great freezer flavor gem and who doesn’t always have an onion and a box of pasta around? Not a bad deal for a few simple items to transport me to a memorable meal in Amalfi, Italy.

Traditionally, this pasta sauce is made with pancetta, but honestly I prefer the smokiness of the bacon if I had to choose. Also bucatini (long, skinny tubes) pictured here would be the ideal pasta choice, but any long pasta will do. Spaghetti, linguine etc.

a table set for two with pepper grinder, parmesan cheese and a single rose. bucatini amatriciana (pasta with bacon) on white plates.

Basic Ingredients For Pasta With Bacon:

olive oil
bacon
onion
wine
canned tomatoes
chili flakes

If you let frozen bacon sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, it’s pretty easy to cut off a couple inches and chop into small pieces for this. I generally remove the bacon from the skillet and drain off most of fat once the bacon has gotten crispy. But if you want to leave more of it in the sauce, I won’t tell! Cooking without a recipe means you’re in charge.

Then add the sliced onions and cook them over low heat until they have become golden brown, scraping up all the browned bits as you go along. Give them enough time because the depth of flavor derived makes all the difference. I add some wine along the way as it becomes necessary. I usually use red wine, but white is fine too. Alternatively, you could splash a touch of vinegar in there if you wanted to. A little balsamic or red wine vinegar would be good. Develop your intuition in the kitchen as you experiment with simple meals like this one.

Once the onions have cooked down and become sweet and golden brown, add the canned tomatoes. Whichever variety you have works. Diced tomatoes hold their shape more than others and we prefer a saucier consistency for this, so crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes pureed in the food processor are preferable. Tomato sauce would be fine too. I’m sure you have something suitable in your pantry and now know what to cook for dinner tonight. Easy!

I like to add some red chili flakes and maybe some garlic and French thyme. Maybe some more wine before returning bacon to the sauce. Simmer, taste and see if you desire a little more of the bacon fat that you poured off…Let sauce simmer until the pasta is ready. Pull the pasta out with tongs and mix with the sauce.

What have your travels inspired you to cook? Here’s another favorite we discovered in Capri.

Simple 3 Ingredient Pasta Sauce

Anyone can cook this quick, fantastic meal.

When my husband was single, he learned to make a simple, but amazingly delicious pasta sauce using 3 ingredients. This is a guy who otherwise lived off of premade meals from the market. So if you want to know what to cook for dinner tonight that’s easy, this dish is for you! These days I tend to serve it with fish for extra protein and it never disappoints.

Mahi mahi and linguine with anchovy tomato sauce in a white bowl. A clove of garlic, tomato and bunch of parsley are in the background

What goes into this basic and very satisfying sauce?

5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of anchovies
1 can of tomato sauce (15 ounces)

Okay, I start with olive oil in the skillet. So it’s 4 ingredients, but olive oil goes without saying, doesn’t it? Sauté the garlic in olive oil until golden. Add the anchovies while smashing with a spoon and slowly stir in the tomato sauce. Simmer while cooking the pasta. It doesn’t get any easier than this. If you want to add just a few more ingredients, read Pantry Pasta Perfection for inspiration.

What Goes With It?

While you could certainly serve it alone or with a salad, a simmering sauce like this is perfect for poaching fish while the pasta cooks. Pictured above, I used mahi mahi because it’s a medium flavored, firm textured wild fish that is readily available in the frozen section of my supermarket. These fillets took a total of 8 minutes to cook over low heat in the sauce, covered. Turn them over about halfway through when they start to look dry/opaque around the edges.

Are you building your confidence in cooking fish? You can see that it’s done when it flakes in the middle with a fork. See how the flesh is just beginning to separate there? Test it if you’re not sure and cook it longer if necessary.

This would be delicious with salmon or sea bass or whatever fish is readily available to you. Just be sure not to overcook it!

Got Squash? Here’s How to Use it Up

Ready to sneak some extra veggies into your next meal?

It’s officially spring, but you may still have some winter squash to use up. What will you do with it? After roasting some acorn squash, I put some away in the freezer for later while some went into a pasta sauce with chicken. It’s just about the easiest way ever to sneak some extra veggies into your meal. That’s how you can eat more vegetables even when you don’t like them.

Halved acorn squash on a white plate, shredded chicken on a brown plate and a box of whole wheat penne. Surrounding these are a bunch of kale, an onion, head of garlic and a wedge of parmesan on a rust colored napkin

Finding some kale in the refrigerator and some chicken in the freezer, I pulled some whole wheat penne out of the pantry and began to create. While the water boiled for the pasta, I diced an onion and minced some garlic. Into a skillet with olive oil they went. Next, the chopped kale stems. Yes, we eat all of our leafy greens; stems and all. You don’t have to, but there’s nothing wrong with them. They just need a little head start on cooking to get tender. Some chicken broth and the acorn squash got whisked into the mix before adding the chopped kale leaves. What other greens might you use?

As I looked around for something interesting to season all of this, I decided on a little umami boost thanks to some white miso. So, after heating the chicken in the vegetable sauce and adding the cooked pasta to that skillet, I put some of the pasta cooking water into a cup and whisked in a little miso paste to taste. The idea is to make a smooth slurry of miso without killing all the probiotic benefits by cooking further. Then I added it to the pasta with the chicken and acorn squash sauce, stirring until incorporated. Grated a little parmesan on top and served.

Penne with chicken, kale and squash miso sauce topped with parmesan cheese in a black bowl. A wedge of parmesan cheese and a microplane are in the foreground while a glass of white wine, a wine bottle and a carton of Shiro Miso sit in the background.

I used chicken in this dish because it was handy, but all kinds of seafood would have been great too. What about making the kale into a pesto with walnuts for a vegan version? Hmm…I’m getting ideas about the squash that I put away into the freezer for later…How would you combine these ideas and fish? Read How to Quickly Poach Fish That’s Delicious for a simple suggestion.

How To Be Creative With Chicken, Pasta and Vegetables

Experiment and cook something easy for dinner tonight.

Another day, another roasted chicken. Yup, I do them fairly regularly because it’s so simple and feeds us multiple meals. But that doesn’t mean I want to eat it with mashed potatoes and gravy every time. How about with pasta? Michael never argues about pasta. Here’s what to cook for dinner tonight that’s easy.

Linguine with roasted chicken breast, shitake and asparagus on a white plate

Since the oven was on, it was a cinch to roast some asparagus while the cooked chicken rested. Onions, shitakes and garlic in a skillet with olive oil. Done. Hit it with a little truffle oil to serve if you have some.

A couple days later some of these ingredients reappeared in another pasta dish. Nothing is easier than pasta, right? It’s a great way to use up all kinds of bits and bobs…like this:

Spaghetti with roasted chicken, asparagus, artichokes, tomatoes and bacon crumbles on a white plate

Wait! Do I see two kinds of pasta mixed together on that plate? Don’t tell me you’ve never done it…so I had a tiny bit of the linguine left over from the previous meal and why waste it? The mushroom flavor was a nice addition to the rest of this dish. Artichoke hearts that didn’t make it into a salad the day before. A few crumbles of bacon left over from BLTs a couple days before that. Did I season that chicken with some Herbs de Provence or thyme? I don’t really remember, but it was divine…not bad for a mish mosh of ingredients thrown together. What’s your favorite quick dinner?

What else goes with roasted chicken? Your imagination is the only limit. Read Get Happy With Apples and Cabbage for one suggestion.

Find Your Inspiration to Create Something Delicious

What unexpected touch might you give to spaghetti with shrimp?

Before I had decided how to prepare the shrimp I had defrosted in the refrigerator, my husband suggested scampi with spaghetti. If there’s an opportunity for him to eat some pasta, he’s all for it. LOL. I love pasta too, but I try to limit the frequency to a couple times a week in favor of more nutrient dense foods. So if I’m going to make pasta as a main dish, I’m also thinking about how many vegetables I can add to it. Tomatoes are a no-brainer, right? How about roasted red bell pepper? I had already roasted and peeled a few the day before, so that was easy too. I don’t plan a weekly menu, but preparing some ingredients ahead of time that could be used in different ways often helps me get dinner on the table quickly while cooking without a recipe.

Spaghetti with shrimp, tomatoes, olives and roasted pepper on a white plate. Cucumber salad and a bottle of rose' sit in the background along with a red bell pepper and head of garlic.

A salad of some kind is always welcome. Chopped cucumber, tomato and red onion dressed with garlic/lemon/olive oil is a delightful combination.

While I boiled the shrimp shells in water to make stock, I looked around for some more inspiration to make this dish a little more special. I had received as a gift a jar of tomato preserves with vanilla beans. Having no idea what I would use it for, I decided to add some to this dish. After sautéing the shrimp in a skillet with butter and a few cloves of minced garlic, I plopped a few tablespoons of tomato preserves in. Half a dozen Kalamata olives would balance its sweetness with some briny saltiness. Chopped tomatoes and sliced roasted pepper finished it off.

Sauce Ingredients:

shrimp
butter
minced garlic
tomato preserves
roasted red pepper
chopped tomatoes
Kalamata olives
shrimp stock

Ready for more inspiration on cooking without a recipe using pasta and shrimp? Make Your Pasta Pretty in Pink.

My Easy Process For Breezy Success With Fish

Start with fish and end with something delicious.

Thinking about what my anchor ingredient for dinner would be the next day, I took some mahi mahi out of the freezer to defrost in the refrigerator overnight. With a number of fresh vegetables to choose from, I wasn’t sure what I would create, but that’s how I roll. You also can learn how to prepare fish with ease.

Once dinnertime approached, I hadn’t given it much thought, but I noticed a tablespoon of butter sitting on a dish on the counter and decided to pull out some lemons and capers to go with it while I contemplated what else to make. Pasta is quick and a lemon caper sauce could dress both the fish and pasta. Check.

Put a pot of water on to boil while I decided on a vegetable that would complement the other items. Asparagus would be good. But I imagined serving a crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with this lemony fish dish and asparagus destroys the flavor of wine. So, I decided on broccoli instead. I remembered a lovely lunch at a neighborhood Italian trattoria where I had ordered chicken piccata and it was served with broccoli. It had been perfect.

So I began to prepare my own “restaurant meal”. Yes, I cook not just because we have to eat. The goal is to always enjoy a dining experience.

Cut into florets, the broccoli could steam over the boiling pasta while I cooked the mahi mahi in a separate skillet.

Mahi mahi atop lemon spaghetti with capers and broccoli on the side on a white plate

I decided on a thin spaghetti which would cook for 6-7 minutes, which was about the same time I needed to cook the broccoli and the fish. I thought the fine texture of this noodle was especially appropriate for the delicate flesh of the fish. Simple and quick.

How Will You Flavor It?

I looked into my spice cabinet to decide on herbs that would enhance the fish. Hmm…I hadn’t used dill in a while and decided that would be refreshing with the other ingredients I had chosen. So, after blotting the fish with a paper towel, I sprinkled the filets with seasoned salt and dill weed. I juiced a couple of lemons, chopped some red onion and garlic and pulled some capers out of the jar. Could you throw some anchovies in there? Absolutely! I didn’t this time, but they would also be great here…What else might you add?

Step by Step

Put the pasta into the boiling pot of water. Stir until you’re sure it’s not sticking together. Add a steamer basket full of broccoli florets on top of the boiling pot. Season with red pepper flakes and salt. Cover loosely with a lid. Remove once fork tender and bright green, about 6 minutes, which was about same time that my pasta needed to become al dente. Feel free to use a longer cooking pasta as long as you don’t overcook the broccoli.

Season fish and put into a hot skillet with butter and olive oil after sautéing some diced onions in it until they’re golden. Flip fillets after a couple minutes, and add chopped garlic, capers and lemon juice. Reduce heat and cook until they flake easily. A couple minutes on each side is all I needed for these small fillets. Remember, less is more when cooking fish.

Reserve fish on a platter while you toss pasta with the sauce in the skillet. Top with fish and serve broccoli on the side. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy! Yes, we enjoy broccoli this way, but if you have fussier eaters at home, find a way to dress it up a bit more. Flavor up a little mayonnaise for a quick aioli, for example. Got some yogurt? Tzatziki would be awesome, especially with the dill on the fish…hmm…I’m getting hungry again thinking about the additional possibilities! What ideas do you have?

Ingredients:

fish filets
pasta
lemons
butter
olive oil
capers
onion
garlic
dill
broccoli
red pepper flakes
seasoned salt

Like the idea of a quick sauce to dress both fish and pasta? Read Pantry Pasta Perfection next.

My Awesome Carbonara Is a Bargain

Stocking basic ingredients means cooking dinner tonight is easy.

Bacon and eggs for dinner? Yes, please! Although Michael would never order pasta carbonara in a restaurant, he enjoys eating mine. Why? He’s not a fan of cream based sauces, so I don’t make it that way. Here’s your answer for what to cook for dinner tonight. Easy!

While I wait for the water to boil, I begin making the sauce by browning some bacon in a skillet. I cut off about an inch from the bacon I keep in the freezer and chopped it up. While I was in there, I looked for some peas because I think they add a nice pop of color and texture, but the only peas I had were the ones I used as an ice pack last time I bumped my head, so no peas this time…Instead, I decided to use some chopped leeks that were starting to get a little frosty. Why not? Onions are the other essential ingredient here, so I figured a combination of leeks and red onion would work well while adding texture and color.

Are you getting the idea here? This dish can be made quickly and easily with things you probably already have on hand. A well stocked freezer of flavor gems helps immensely and who doesn’t usually have a box of pasta and a few eggs sitting around? That means you already know what to cook for dinner tonight and it’s so easy!

I spooned off most of the bacon fat that had been rendered before adding the onions and leeks to the skillet. Cooked until tender and added a splash of white wine while I waited for the pasta water to boil. That’s the thing that takes the longest here…

Preparing the Eggs

After putting the pasta into the boiling water, I whisked 3 eggs in my favorite big round bottomed pot and then placed it over the boiling pot of pasta and continued to whisk for a couple of minutes. Why? Because I wanted to begin cooking the eggs without turning them into scrambled. The eggs will finish cooking when you combine them with the hot pasta, but I like to give them a head start. Whisk quickly while heating them double boiler style and remove from the heat if you start to see any little bits that start to look like cooked scrambled eggs. Remember you’re making a sauce, not scrambled eggs. Whisk, whisk, whisk!

Season eggs with salt. Once the pasta is cooked, toss it together with the eggs, bacon, onions and some grated parmesan and serve. You can add a little pasta water if you need a touch more sauciness. Top with ground pepper and grated parmesan. The hardest thing here is deciding whether to drink a red or white wine with this dinner. I could go either way.

Here’s what we decided.

A bottle of Novellum Chardonnay beside a wine glass filled with it in front of a painted Italian platter

Okay, Michael makes one exception to the no-cream rule. To make that delicious sauce, read Make Your Pasta Pretty In Pink .