Smoky, comforting Spanish pasta bake that only uses one pan

I’m a sucker for a good baked pasta – crispy topping, bubbling sauce, maybe a little cheese (or a lot) – but I’ve never considered it a particularly streamlined affair. You’ve got to boil and drain the pasta before tossing it with the other ingredients, and if you’re making a separate sauce, that’s at least three bowls, blenders and/or pots to clean.

As much as I appreciate recipes that require less cleanup, it wasn’t until I read Anna Jones’ new book that I made the connection between one-pot cooking and eco-consciousness. Even though Jones doesn’t directly draw that line, the book’s title, One Pot, Plan, Planet, does. And it makes sense: fewer dishes means less water. But that also means more time to cook, which might mean more time to cook from scratch.

Jones includes a recipe for baked pasta that requires you to dirty exactly one pan – a casserole dish – and a small mixing bowl for the topping. The key is to put the pasta in the casserole dried and add enough liquid to cook it with the other ingredients, lasagne-style.

Those ingredients include touches that give this a Spanish vibe: smoked paprika, of course, plus jarred roasted red peppers, sliced olives, sherry vinegar and a small amount of manchego cheese. With those and the three types of fennel in the mix – bulb, fronds and seeds – the bake ends up with a satisfyingly deep, piquant flavour.

You’ll love the comfort you get from this warming dish, and you’ll love getting back the time you otherwise would’ve spent cleaning up afterward.

Smoked paprika pasta bake

Serves: 8

Active time: 30 minutes | Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

This pasta dish gets Spanish touches for a particularly piquant flavour. It also saves time – and a pot – by letting you skip boiling the pasta first, instead using enough liquid to cook it in the casserole dish, lasagne-style.

Storage notes: Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

Ingredients:

1 large white onion (280g), chopped

1 fennel bulb (200g), chopped, plus fronds for topping

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

450g dried penne or other short pasta shapes, such as fusilli

1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes

1 small bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped

3 roasted red peppers from a jar, drained and chopped

45g pitted green olives, sliced

1½ tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tsp smoked paprika

600ml low-sodium vegetable broth, heated, plus more if needed

60g breadcrumbs

30g grated manchego cheese (may substitute parmesan cheese or vegan cheese)

Method:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 200C.

In a 22-by-33cm baking dish, toss together the onion, fennel, garlic, oil, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are starting to soften but not yet browning.

Add to the baking dish the pasta, tomatoes, parsley, red peppers, olives, vinegar, and paprika. Stir to thoroughly combine, taste, and season with more salt and/or pepper as needed. Pour the broth over the mixture, adding more if needed so the liquid barely covers the pasta. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and has absorbed the water.

While the pasta is baking, chop the wispiest parts of the fennel fronds. In a small bowl, mix the fennel fronds with the breadcrumbs and cheese.

When the pasta is ready, remove the foil, scatter the breadcrumb mixture on top and bake, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden and crisp on top. Remove from the oven and let the dish rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, so the sauce thickens. Serve hot.

Nutrition information per serving | calories: 314; total fat: 5g; saturated fat: 1g; cholesterol: 3mg; sodium: 649mg; carbohydrates: 55g; dietary fibre: 6g; sugar: 5g; protein: 10g.

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

Adapted from ‘One Pot, Pan, Planet’ by Anna Jones (Knopf, 2022).

© The Washington Post