I'm making Tex-Mex pasta.

This is one of those one pot pasta deals.

Totally works, totally is delicious,

happens to be vegetarian,

but you don't even have to tell anybody.

They won't even notice.

They'll just be too busy going like this.

(imitates devouring food)

(bright new wave music)

Two tricks to making a one pot pasta recipe work

is I like to use a deep skillet like this one.

Normally I use my cast iron for everything,

but it's just not really big enough.

You really need something that can hold

the volume of pasta and liquid.

And then also, use a small, short pasta shape.

I like these 'cause they look good on camera.

Who cares?

What I'm saying is like, I find those recipes

that use spaghetti,

if you have to break the spaghetti before you cook it,

then what is the point of using spaghetti?

I just feel like small pasta shapes cook more evenly.

It works better.

So we're gonna start out over here on the stove

in my big skillet.

I'm gonna heat it up over medium high heat.

Add a little bit of butter,

and saute some shallots and some garlic

until they're soft and brown.

This will take a few minutes.

You don't wanna skimp on the time here.

I think getting your onions nice and brown

is another key to making any kind of one pot dish

have a lot more depth and delicious flavor

than if you just dump everything in some boiling water.

Once your onions and everything is looking nice and brown,

we can add some salt, some pepper,

some dried oregano.

And then we're gonna add liquid.

I'm gonna use some vegetable broth.

And the pasta.

And mix that together.

And we're gonna cover it

and bring it up to a boil.

So increase your heat to high.

And then once it's boiling,

turn it down to simmer.

Keep it covered.

I really like to use a glass lid for this.

It makes it a lot easier to keep an eye on

what's happening in there.

And then set you timer for like seven minutes.

This pasta that I'm using

said it would be al dente in eight minutes,

so check it a little bit earlier

just to make sure you're not overcooking anything.

After seven or eight minutes,

most of the liquid should be absorbed

and your pasta should be tender.

And then we're gonna go ahead and add some

spinach and some cherry tomatoes that I've cut in half.

Drained cooked black beans.

And basically just wanna cook this another couple minutes

until all the liquid is absorbed

and the greens are wilted.

Then when you're ready to serve,

we're gonna top it with some crumbled cotija cheese

and some pepitas.

That's fun to say, pepitas.

And a little bit of Hilah's own personal hot sauce.

Secret recipe.

Let's give that a taste.

So you can get this recipe at my website, hilahcooking.com.

Mmmmm.

Mmm.

There is just such a great flavor combo happening there,

and only one pan to clean up,

especially if you just have everyone eat out of the skillet

instead of serving it in individual bowls.

Right?

Don't say I never gave anything to you.

Thank you so much for watching.

Don't forget to subscribe.

And boner appetit.

That means tiny boner in Spanish.

(bright new wave music)