Spot: The Bite Vol 4: Why You Should Use Less Pasta

Friday, January 3, 2025

The Bite Vol 4: Why You Should Use Less Pasta

Hi There,

This month's recipe, One-of-Everything Pasta Frittata for One, is a result of this story. And I think you'll be surprised by how satisfying it is.

I've been preaching the "more sauce, less pasta" sermon for longer than I care to remember – or, at least, since 2007, when I wrote about it in the Times. And you know what? I love it now more than ever.

When I'm cooking pasta for people, I always ask "how hungry are you?" Depending on their answer, I measure the pasta out in grams, but it's often less than you think. (For example: a "snack" is 60 grams; a first course is 75; a main course is 100 and up – some people want 125 or even more, but that's a lot. Of course all of this is less than I ate when I was young, so judge accordingly.) And then, no matter what, I put a boatload of sauce on top.

Because: The sauces I make are usually veggie-centric: mushrooms, squash, hearty greens, beans. (Canned tomatoes, chickpeas, bagged spinach also work well; you don't need a summer day at the farmers' market to make this happen.) Just turn the proportions around. Focus on the sauce and drastically cut your pasta. This is also a great way to increase your daily intake of vegetables. (Generally, you don't want to use this method with creamy, cheesy, or meat-centric sauces.)

I've talked about meat as a condiment; think of this as pasta as a condiment. If you make a really wonderful squash and tomato sauce (this works so well with canned tomatoes), the pasta becomes a (welcome) afterthought. Or what about chickpeas and broccoli rabe with a ton of garlic? Or a pile of mushrooms with wine and garlic and parsley? You get the picture.

Another way to use pasta as a condiment is to put it in a frittata, a dish that in general is one of the easiest dinners to get on the table. A while back, my colleague, Kerri, came to visit, and we conducted a "less pasta" experiment. Our goal was to cook a few dishes that involved an ounce of pasta per person. And you know what? That was plenty of pasta.

So let's get to it.