Is there a specific ratio of pasta to water for this kind of recipe? This looks delicious, but far too much for one person.

I think that it is roughly 3 times the weight of pasta should be the liquid. So 170g pasta I used about 500 ml of water.

It just occurred to me that this is pretty much the same idea as an orzo side dish I've been doing forever - saute some onion or shallot in olive oil or butter, quickly toast the orzo in the pan with it, then add broth or water, s&p and let cook until the orzo is done and only enough liquid remains to form a "sauce." If you like, stir in whatever fresh herb, and/or a bit of grated parm. I always thought of it as a quick quasi pilaff/risotto kind of thing, but it's not far afield of this. (Also works with Israeli cous-cous, Acini di Pepe, or any other tiny pasta.)

I've become quite fond of this style of cooking pasta. It's a lot like a medieval pasta pottage than normal pasta, but still delicious.

The little clay pot is still my favourite, as the slow cooking seems to make it even more delicious than a metal pot. I like how the flavour of the sauces infuse with the pasta. Instead of being sauce plus pasta, the pasta is part of the sauce.

For me, it's the portion size that is the problem with the original recipe. Half a cup of short pasta is more than ample for me for a meal. I would rather the calories come from the sauce rather than from the base. Quite often I'll have the pasta amount and replace it with cauliflower.

In the little clay pot, I can measure out the pasta, put the water to almost cover it, then add in whatever I have to hand which is usually garden veg, garlic, dry tomatoes, a few drops of hot sauce, and on occasion some protein like tuna, cooked chickpeas or bacon. Using a big pot I would have to measure out the water which never seems to work for me. Each brand and shape of pasta seems to want different water ratios, so it's much easier for me to let the pasta be the judge of how much water it wants rather than try to guess.

This recipe seems to inevitably vary with practically everything- the pan you use, the type of pasta, the humidity, the altitude, how hard your water is,how done you consider correct, the characteristics of the stove... If you want consistent results you'd have to experiment. Seems easier to me just to cook the pasta separately- at least for a home cook, who doesn't get a lot of repetitions. If you want to call it one pan, this sort of quantity of pasta can be boiled very well in a skillet, then held for a few minutes while you put together a sauce.

I make it for just me all the time. For me, 2 ounces of dried pasta is a serving. So, if I remember right, I needed 3/4 cup water. I think I had to add a little more a couple of times. It's a recipe you need to play with. If 3 ounces is a serving for you, just divide the water by 4 or 1 cup plus 2 TBS.

The recipe clearly states "serves 4." Divide quantities by four for a single portion.

Spaghetti on toast. Spaghetti on toast with broken crisps. Spaghetti in a frittata. Frittata on toast. The things that are clearly worth trying which I learned in this thread are endless! I loathe leftovers, so anything that lets me recycle them in an interesting way is all good. Food52 rocks!!!

I tried making one pot pasta again, this time I put the short pasta in the bottom of the small clay pot and just barely covered it with water, then added the extra ingredients. This seems to work well for short pasta.

The korean cooking bowl is great for more than just bebimbap. Though it does makes fantastic stove top rice. I like it for just about any one-pot meal because it's easy to clean and limits my portion size. Also, there is something tastier about being forced to cook at a lower heat.

Please forgive my ignorance but I've been wondering, why cook a whole bag of pasta at once instead of measuring out portions? Large households to feed? Leftover pasta is delicious, sure, but eating the same sauce more than two days in a row gets boring for me. I'm probably just weird in that I like to cook a different pasta and sauce every day. I never know what I'm going to feel like eating tomorrow.

Fried leftover spaghetti is the second best breakfast ever - after cold pizza. But really I have limited fridge space right now.

Though I cook pasta pretty much daily, I usually only cook about 1/2 cup of short pasta for myself at a time then make a sauce out of whatever looks good in the garden/cupboard. If I'm extra hungry, I add more vegi's or lentils to the sauce.

I gave this a try last night after I turned my computer off - well a version of it since I forgot to write it down. I have this tiny korean clay pot, a bit smaller than a cereal bowl, that I love to cook in. It's great because it doubles as a serving dish and it retains the heat for about an hour after it leaves the stove. I put the pasta on the bottom and added water till it covered the pasta and some. Added sun dried tomatoes in oil (with a few drops of the oil), olive chopped up stuff in a jar, capers, salt & pepper. Oh and garlic, lots of fresh garden garlic. Heated it up on medium-low till boiling, then simmered till the water was just about gone, then stirred in grated goats cheese. Very tasty, but too much water. The pasta got quite soggy.

I think just trial and error to find the right ratio will be the way to go.

Leftover pasta is also great in a frittata, which is, in turn, great in sandwiches!

Lindsay-jean, it is made with cold, leftover spaghetti and meat sauce originally. It was a favorite breakfast of my Papou's. Maybe he overindulged in Ouzo the night before. :0) I think this pasta recipe just might make a fabulous rendition.

It calls for 12oz pasta and 4.5 cups water, so I would just halve the entire recipe. You may have some leftover, but it will make a nice midnight snack or tomorrows lunch. Have you had a spaghetti sandwich on white bread with butter? Omg..pure joy. Cutting it down more than half may compromise the recipe.