The best ingredients, prepared properly with lots of flavor, deliver pleasure in abundance. Perhaps that is the beauty behind the increasingly-popular, one-pan meals. No fuss, minimal mess, maximum satisfaction.

To prove this point, take a turn making a one-pan pasta. Noodles that cook in their sauce pack tons of flavor. This method also delivers toothsome texture and prevents soggy pasta. The all-in-one skillet cooking means there’s no need to wait for a pot of water to boil.

The only prerequisite is the proper size skillet. A 12-inch skillet (measure across the top of the pan) allows the right space for noodles and sauce. Nonstick, or well-seasoned skillets, make clean-up a snap.

I seem to always have half of a box of pasta in the cabinet. Perfect for use in the following dish. Broken lasagna noodles yield a terrific finished dish with al dente noodles interspersed in sauce, sausage, meatballs and cheese. Medium-sized shells, corkscrew shapes, penne and rigatoni work well too. Skip skinny noodles such as angel hair.

You will need 5 cups (40 ounces) of a thickish liquid to cook 8 ounces of pasta — a combination of bottled pasta sauce and broth works perfectly. Check the ounces on the jar of your favorite marinara sauce and adjust the amount of broth accordingly.

Lately, spicy, bright and fruity Calabrian chiles have captured my taste buds. Look for Calabrian chile flakes or powder in Italian markets or online. Stir a spoonful or two into bottled marinara for a zesty richness that pairs well with tomatoes. Crushed red pepper flakes or chipotle chiles pack much more punch, so use these substitutes sparingly.

Sweet Italian sausage, cooked with onion, is the first step in the skillet. Then, add fully-cooked meatballs, sauce and broth. When the mixture is hot, stir in the uncooked pasta. Cook at a very gentle simmer, stirring often, to keep the noodles submerged in liquid. As the mixture cooks, the pasta will soften by absorbing the liquids.

Add the three cheeses near the end of the cooking. A mixture of ricotta with fresh basil provides richness, shredded mozzarella adds texture and Parmesan finishes the dish with a buttery, salty flavor. Browning the cheeses under the broiler adds color and flavor. Sprinkle fresh basil over everything just before serving.

Three Cheese Pasta Skillet with Sausage and Meatballs

Makes 4 to 6 servings

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