This one-pot spaghetti with salmon and leek is an evergreen for many reasons. First and foremost, it is uncommonly delicious. I dare say that this is one of the tastiest spaghetti recipes I know. But there's more, much more. It is also so simple to make. Don't rush, and still you will be ready to eat it in half an hour. And then it's also very economical in terms of water and energy consumption. Enough reasons to get started with this!

How do you make one-pot spaghetti with salmon and leek?

As said, the recipe is very simple. And in less than half an hour, you can already enjoy it on your plate. Only a few preparations are needed. And then the ingredients go one by one into that one large pan that we need for it.

The preparations

The first step is always to prepare the ingredients. So also in this case. But all in all, it's not much work.

We start with the leek. First, we cut off the roots and the top green parts. We only want to use the tender white and light green parts. Then we halve the leek stem lengthwise. If there's still sand attached, we rinse the leek thoroughly. After that, we cut the leek into half rings.

We finely chop the onion and the garlic clove in a classic way. We remove the outer skin and then cut both into small pieces.

Next, we take the green chili pepper. We cut off the stem and halve it lengthwise. We remove the seeds, as they are too spicy. Then we also cut the green chili pepper into small pieces.

Then there's also the cheese. We quarter the small Mozzarella balls.
Alternatively, you can cut 40 grams (1,4 ounce) of Mozzarella into small pieces. We also cut the blue cheese into pieces.

Finally, there's the fish. I usually use salmon or salmon trout. Remove the skin if necessary. Then we cut the remaining fish into bite-sized pieces. Alternatively, you can also use smoked salmon. However, you should only really add it to the dish at the very end.

Making the one-pot spaghetti with salmon and leek

Now that the 'mise en place' is ready, we can really start cooking. For this, we need a large pan. If necessary, you can break the spaghetti in half if it doesn't fit in the pan.

First, we heat olive oil in the large pan. Then we sauté the onion, garlic, and the green chili pepper in it. After about a minute, the aromas will be released.

That's the signal to also add the leek to the pan. We let it stew for one to two minutes.

Then it's time for the spaghetti and the first part of the vegetable stock. Make sure the spaghetti stays moist and regularly ladle the broth over the spaghetti. After about five minutes, the spaghetti will have absorbed a large part of the broth. Then it's time to add the remaining broth. Stir the now flexible spaghetti well. This way, it mixes well with the broth and the vegetables.

After another three to four minutes, a large part of the broth will have been absorbed again. Now add the cheese (Mozzarella and blue cheese) and the pieces of salmon (trout) to the one-pot spaghetti.

Stir everything together and give the cheese time to melt. Meanwhile, the fish and the spaghetti will be cooked. And the broth will be almost completely absorbed That's then the sign that you can serve the one-pot spaghetti with salmon and leek in deep plates.

Enjoy! You will find that this is one of the tastiest spaghetti recipes you have ever eaten. It will most likely reappear in your menu planning soon.

The secrets of one-pot spaghetti with salmon and leek

As mentioned, this recipe is an absolute hit for many reasons. And these have to do with taste, time, and cost-effectiveness.

First of all, there's the taste. Since everything that goes into the pan stays in the pan until we serve, nothing is lost in terms of flavor. We don't pour away any cooking water. We don't even need salt and pepper to flavor this dish. The vegetables bring a lot of aromas, but especially the cheese adds a pleasant creaminess to this recipe. And finally, there's the salmon that we let cook briefly. This is important because it keeps it tender and flavorful. Overcooked salmon quickly tastes dry and salty.

Then, of course, there's the aspect of time. This dish is ready in half an hour. And you really don't have to rush. So it's ideal to prepare this quickly on an evening after a workday.

Finally, there's the cost-effectiveness. We don't need to boil an unnecessary amount of water and then pour most of it away. We only use the water we need. And because we use less water, we also need less energy to bring it to a boil. Again, a win. But we're not done with cost-effectiveness yet: because we've only used one pan, we also have much less washing up to do: again saving time, water, and energy.

And where is the inspiration coming from?

I admit, the idea to make spaghetti as a one-pot dish isn't mine. Before, I always cooked spaghetti in a large amount of water, which I then had to drain, of course. But the idea came when I saw a promotional video from Bora. In it, the German TV chef Johan Lafer made spaghetti in a pan without excess cooking water. This inspired me to make my spaghetti more often using this method.