This pasta dish is full of fresh farmers market veggies like broccoli, sugar snap peas and Swiss chard, and is made in just one pot in about 15 minutes. 
Life is blissfully slow these days. I haven’t been in a rush to do anything, and most days I find myself wondering why such-and-such is happening on a Saturday. Oh, right, that’s because it’s actually Tuesday. I know I am very privileged to have these weeks off, and I am taking full advantage of them. That means that some days I have an elaborate dinner planned, and on others I am so busy enjoying my day that 7:00 rolls around and I haven’t truly considered what I’m going to make. 
Since it’s summer, I am also relying heavily on local farms for the majority of our food. I’ve been doing less planned, grocery store-centered cooking, and more whatever-the-farm-has cooking. The best part is, it’s costing us so much less money to get all the produce we want from neighbors and local farms than it would to go grocery shopping, and we end up with the most beautiful, flavorful produce. 
The brilliance of this pasta dish rests in its speed and simplicity; there’s nothing fancy or fussy here, but the end result is a super flavorful, satisfying meal. Oh, and there are minimal dishes to wash afterwards, which is such a lifesaver. We were cleaning dishes for 2 days after our wedding and are wary to create many more lest our hands shrivel away into nothingness.
Okay, let’s talk specifics here. A pound of your favorite long pasta goes into a pot of boiling, salted water. I used a brown rice and quinoa based pasta for extra protein, but really, any pasta you love will work fine here. Next, you set a timer for 3 minutes less than the suggested cook time for the pasta. So, if your pasta takes 10 minutes, set a timer for 7. In those seven minutes you chop your veggies and herbs, zest a lemon, and grab a bottle of olive oil off the shelf. Grated cheese is an optional, but obviously delicious, addition. 
When the timer goes off, you add in the veggies, set the timer for the remaining amount of time, and wait. Pour yourself a glass of wine, dance around the kitchen with your kids, switch over a load of laundry-do whatever you can in those 3 minutes. Finally, you drain the pasta and veggies, dump them back into the pot with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, handfuls of fresh herbs and scallions, and extra salt and pepper. Give it all a big toss with some tongs, sprinkle on cheese, and eat. 
There’s such beauty in the simplicity of this dish; it’s threaded with lemon and olive oil, and bursting with summer produce. Despite the lack of sauce, the noodles are all coated in fresh flavors, and there’s even room for a little leftover rotisserie chicken or other animal protein to get tossed in at the end, if that’s more your style.
If you live near a farm stand or have a weekly farmers market in your town, I cannot urge you enough to go this weekend! Grab a couple vegetables and herbs that your family loves, and then go enjoy the rest of your day; there’s no need to plan out dinner, just come home 15 minutes before you want to eat and throw together this easy 1-pot meal! Don’t forget to let me know how it turns out by commenting below or tagging me #bakedgreens on Instagram.
One-Pot Farmer's Market Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti or other long pasta of choice + water and salt for the pot
- 1 large crown of broccoli
- 6-8 leaves of swiss chard
- 2 big handfuls sugar snap peas
- 4-6 Tablespoons olive oil
- zest and juice from 1 lemon
- a handful of fresh herbs like basil mint, or parsley
- 4-6 scallions
- 1/4 teaspoon each of salt pepper, and garlic powder
- optional: 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese + a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes for serving
Instructions
- 1. Fill a large pot 2/3 of the way with water and set on the stove over high heat. Add a big pinch of salt, and pasta. I don't bother waiting for the water to boil before adding the pasta. Set a timer for 3 minutes less than the suggested cook time for the pasta. Stir pasta occasionally.
- 2. Meanwhile, prepare all the vegetables. Slice broccoli stems and flourettes into bite-sized pieces. Slice chard stems and leaves into thin strips, and roughly chop snap peas. Roughly chop a handful of herbs and the scallions, and set them aside for adding at the end.
- 3. When timer goes off, add the broccoli, chard, and snap peas, and set another 3-minute timer. Grab a bottle of olive oil, and pull out the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- 4. When timer goes off, turn off the stove and drain the pot of pasta and vegetables, then return it to the pot. Immediately add all other ingredients (olive oil, lemon zest and juice, herbs, scallions, salt, pepper, garlic), and toss to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
- 5. Pasta is best eaten hot, though still tastes good at room temperature or cold, leftover, the next day.