Like a lot of people trying to eat on a budget, I eat a lot of pasta. It’s cheap, and there are so many dishes you can make besides spaghetti. This is one of my favorites.

I can’t remember where I originally read about this method of cooking pasta. It’s so simple: the idea is to cook the pasta like you would risotto so that it keeps it’s starch, thus making it super creamy.

I’ve found that pasta shells or tubes work the best, and if you’ve ever made risotto, you can definitely make this.

Basic Directions

First, you start out with a pot of simmering vegetable broth.

Then, prep your ingredients. For this version, I flavored the pasta with julienned zucchini and chopped toasted almonds.

You can use whatever you have on hand, but I would suggest that keeping it really simple is probably best.

Heat the largest skillet you have over medium-high heat. Add oil, and saute any aromatics you’re using (like garlic or onion). Add the dry pasta. I like to use 1/2 cup of wine at this point, but you can skip that and go right to the broth. Just add ladlefuls of broth into the pan, adding more when it is absorbed into the pasta.

*By the way, this is one of those dishes where you can’t just put it on the stove and forget about it. Like risotto, you should be standing by the stove the whole time.*

After around 10 minutes of adding broth, start tasting the pasta. When it’s close to being done, add the other ingredients.

Cook down, until everything is thoroughly cooked.

When it’s finished, add a handful (well, probably closer to 1/4 cup) of nutritional yeast, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve, and enjoy the natural creaminess of this fantastic pasta.

I’ve also enjoyed this with kale and roasted red peppers. It’s super delicious, and because the creamy texture comes from the pasta itself, it’s cheap to make with just a few ingredients.

Have you ever made absorption pasta before?