On the verge of ordering pizza for the third time this month? Put down your phone. Nora Singley’s Bee Sting Bucatini — from her new cookbook, One-Pot Pasta — is here to help. Inspired by the cult-favorite Bee Sting Pizza from Roberta’s in Brooklyn (think: soppressata, tomato sauce, globs of cheese, and a drizzle of hot honey), this fuss-free recipe takes all that sweet-and-spicy goodness and swaps the crust for pasta. Virtually everything happens in a large pot or Dutch oven: The soppressata crisps up, a pantry-friendly tomato sauce comes together, and the bucatini cooks right in the sauce. Top it with ricotta, fresh basil, and plenty of hot honey — and suddenly, we understand Winnie-the-Pooh’s priorities.
The Time Commitment: About 40 minutes.
Key Tips: To keep your bucatini intact, go easy on the stirring. Singley recommends using tongs and treating the noodles “as you would delicate salad greens.” No soppressata? Any salami works, or skip it entirely for a spicy, meat-free tomato pasta.
Other Takes: For more one-pot wonders, try…
Marry Me Chicken Soup. This absurdly comforting, 30-minute riff on the viral dish has sun-dried tomatoes, heavy cream, and a healthy dose of Parm — no fork or knife required.
Roman Chicken Cacciatore With Potatoes. In the words of one fan: “This recipe makes me want to fling myself on the ground and flail around in sheer ecstasy.”
Skillet Lasagna. All of the layers of flavor, none of the actual layering. And it’s so cheesy, it might even convince Garfield he loves Mondays.
BEE STING BUCATINI
SERVES 4
Pizza in pasta form. Here’s an enthusiastic nod to the famed Brooklyn hipster haunt, Roberta’s, which popularized the combo of hot honey and soppressata with their Bee Sting pizza. Here bucatini subs in for the pizza crust: The noodles are chewy and hefty, with plenty of muscle to support the quickie marinara you’ll throw together, which cooks its way into each strand as the pot simmers away.
Use store-bought hot honey if you like, but making your own takes all of three minutes and will cost you a fraction of the price.
Ingredients:
¼ cup (85 g) honey
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Red pepper flakes
Ground cayenne pepper
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
4 ounces (115 g) thinly sliced soppressata (about 16 slices)
1 large yellow onion, peeled, halved, and finely chopped
1/3 cup (75 g) double-concentrated tomato paste
½ teaspoon sugar
3 to 5 anchovy fillets (depending on your taste)
3½ cups (840 ml) water, plus more as needed
1 (28-ounce/795 g) can diced tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
½ teaspoon dried oregano
3 basil sprigs, plus a large handful basil leaves for serving
1 pound (454 g) bucatini
½ cup (4 ounces/115g) fresh whole-milk ricotta, for serving
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
Instructions
Place ¼ cup (85 g) honey in a small, microwave-safe bowl and heat until loose and pourable, 15 to 20 seconds (or warm in a small saucepan over low heat). Stir in 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon cayenne, and a big pinch of salt. Set aside. Before serving, taste for heat and adjust with more red pepper flakes and/or cayenne.
Warm a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, swirling to coat, and working in batches, add 4 ounces (115 g) soppressata. Cook the soppressata, reducing the heat to prevent burning, and flipping occasionally, until just crisp and beginning to brown on the edges. (The slices will continue to crisp as they cool.) Transfer the slices to a plate and repeat with the remaining slices. Reserve for serving.
Place the pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 chopped onion, and a big pinch of red pepper flakes. Season with salt and cook, stirring, until softened (do not brown), 5 to 6 minutes.
Create a well in the middle of the pot and add the remaining 1tablespoon olive oil, 1/3cup (75 g) tomato paste, ½ teaspoon sugar, and 3 to 5 anchovies. Stir to coat, smashing the tomato paste onto the surface of the pot, and sauté until fragrant, 2 to 3minutes. Begin incorporating the onion into the paste, reducing the heat to prevent burning, until the paste has darkened, 5 to 6 minutes more.
Add 3½ cups (840 ml) water, 1 (28 ounces/795 g) can diced tomatoes (and their liquid), 2grated garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 3 basil sprigs, and another pinch of red pepper flakes. Season with salt and stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Add 1 pound (454 g) bucatini, shimmying the noodles into the liquid with tongs and separating the strands as best you can. Don’t worry—any noodles that aren’t fully submerged will eventually become flexible enough to nestle into the pot.
Adjust the heat to maintain a steady boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is uncomfortably al dente, 12 to 14 minutes. Add water, a splash or two at a time, to maintain a generous slick of sauce in the pot. If the pasta begins to stick to the pan, add more water and reduce the heat.
Turn off the heat. Cover the pot and let the pasta rest, stirring once or twice, until it has turned al dente, 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve topped with the crisped soppressata, spoonfuls of fresh ricotta, basil leaves, hot honey, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a drizzle of your best olive oil
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