Just one pot, no hassle at the stove and a delicious dish within a few minutes: the one-pot trend can be a real enrichment. With our 5 tips you will succeed in making one-pot dishes that not only taste good but are also healthy!
With so-called one-pot dishes, there are no limits to creativity – that makes the simple dishes so wonderfully versatile.
The idea was originally based on a one-pot pasta recipe by Martha Stewart. All sorts of one-pot pasta dishes are therefore very popular. However, stews such as chili con carne are also considered classics in the series.
Cooking one-pot recipes – that’s how it works
With a one-pot meal, the name says it all: all the ingredients cook in one pot. No pre-cooking, no frying, no separate sauce preparation.
The second basic rule is: the cooking water is not poured off. This not only preserves all the vitamins that would otherwise end up in the sink, the aroma of all the ingredients is also absorbed by the base or processed into a sauce. This guarantees a particularly intense taste.
The basis can be anything from pasta and pasta alternatives to couscous and quinoa. Zoodles – zucchini noodles – are also suitable for low-carb fans.
Important: The base determines the cooking time, everything else gradually goes into the pot. The order here depends on the cooking point of the respective ingredients.
Five tips for successful one-pot dishes
Just throw everything in a pot and stir from time to time – but it’s not that easy after all. Keep these tips in mind so that the first one-pot meal attempts don’t end up with muddy pasta or broccoli that is way too hard on the plate.
1. Cook according to the recipe
Especially for one-pot beginners, it pays off to cook strictly according to the recipe at first. In this way, it is possible to adhere to the correct cooking times so that in the end everything has the consistency it should have and a nice, creamy sauce is created.
With a little practice, you’ll later get a feel for how long each ingredient needs to cook, and you can become a little more free and creative.
2. Little liquid at the beginning
Adding more water is always possible. However, if you end up with too much liquid, your one-pot meal will either become a very overcooked affair or you’ll have to awkwardly drain water.
One of the great advantages of this cooking method would then be lost, namely that no vitamins are disposed of and wasted in the cooking water in the sink.
So it is better to use a little less liquid at first, test the degree of doneness of the ingredients in between and gradually add more water, coconut milk, wine or similar.
Additional tip: If you pre-boil the cooking water in the kettle, you can not only read the exact amount from the filling level, but also save cooking time.
3. Note the different cooking times of the ingredients
The biggest challenge with One-Pots is that every ingredient reaches the perfect cooking point. A certain smoothness and the harmonious mixture of the individual ingredients is desirable, but it should not result in an indistinguishable mass. Therefore, it is important to know how long each ingredient needs to cook.
Hard vegetables such as carrots or celeriac should be added to the pot right from the start, while fresh spinach or tomatoes should only be added shortly before serving.
4. Chop vegetables
Small cut ingredients require a shorter cooking time. So if you are very hungry or in a hurry, cut up the vegetables that take a little longer. Even if you make the mistake of not adding turnips or potatoes in time, this trick can still save the meal.
With ingredients such as cabbage, it also makes sense to cut them smaller or add them earlier. If the flatulent vegetables are not completely cooked through, this can cause an unpleasant stomach ache.
5. Use pot of sufficient size
For a one-pot meal, it is advisable to use a sufficiently large pot. Since you only add all the ingredients one at a time, you may not know right away how much space will be needed at the end.
So it’s better to play it safe with a large pot instead of making a big mess at the end because you can’t stir without splashing the sauce.
Depending on the recipe, a large pan can also be suitable as a pot, for example if spaghetti is the basis. These fit well lying down and can also be completely covered with water right away.
Shop recommendation for cooking pots
Zwilling Quadro cookware set, 5 pcs. (Sigma Classic sandwich base material, suitable for induction)
Römertopf Swing terracotta-red
All-Clad 4508 Stainless Steel Meat and Stock Pot with Lid, 7.6 L, 26.7 cm
ScanPan 68252600 saucepan with lid – Pro IQ, 6.0 L
ScanPan 68252000 saucepan with lid – Pro IQ, 3.2 L
ScanPan 65252000 saucepan with lid – CTX, 3.5 L
ScanPan 71070000 cookware set – Impact, 3-piece
WMF 0774056380 cookware set 5 pieces Quality One
Alessi MAMI pot made of stainless steel
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The benefits of one-pot meals
If you follow the tips and become a little more confident over time, one-pot meals provide the optimal basis for a varied and healthy diet. Here are the advantages of the one-pot meal at a glance.
- less cookware required
- suitable for small kitchenettes
- less washing up
- Nutrients are retained
- Sauces are easy to prepare
- Dishes are automatically aromatic
This article first appeared on Fitforfun.de
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