Pasta With Caramelized Onions Blue Cheese Recipes

CARAMELIZED ONION PASTA

Steps:

• Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium until butter is melted. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and deeply golden brown, about 30 minutes. (Stop before the onions become dry and shriveled.) Add red pepper flakes (if using) and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Remove pot from heat.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
• Add pasta and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to onion mixture and stir to combine. Add a small handful of cheese and stir until melted. Repeat with remaining cheese, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed to create a glossy sauce that coats the pasta. Stir in parsley (if using).
• Divide pasta among bowls. Top with Parmesan, parsley, and a few cranks of pepper.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND BLUE CHEESE ORZO

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• While pasta is cooking, heat butter and oil in a large skillet over low heat. Cook onion in this mixture until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from pan with a spoon and drain on paper towels.
• In a large bowl, combine blue cheese, mascarpone and onion and mix well. Toss cheese mixture with spinach and pasta, season with salt and pepper and serve.

PASTA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS & BLUE CHEESE (MOOSEWOOD)

Steps:

• Cook pasta until al dente.
• Heat oil in a 12-14 inch skillet at medium heat.
• Add onions, salt and pepper.
• Cook until lightly caramelized (golden brown color).
• Add wine, broth or water.
• Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when pasta is done.
• Dip out a cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.
• Place pasta in your serving dish.
• Toss in onion mixture and blue cheese, until the pasta is coated.
• Use a bit of the cooking water that you saved to "wash" the remaining onion mixture from your pan. Add the mixture to the pasta. Add more cooking water to the pasta if it seems dry.
• Serve hot.

PASTA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS & BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large covered pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
• Meanwhile, in a skillet on medium heat, warm the oil and cook the onions with the salt and pepper until soft, golden brown, and lightly caramelized. (The larger your skillet, the faster the onions will caramelize. In a 12- or 14-inch skillet, the process may take less than 10 minutes. In a smaller skillet in which the onions are crowded, it could take 20 minutes.) Add the wine, broth, or water and continue to cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is done. If the onions begin to stick, add some pasta-cooking water.
• When the pasta is done, drain it, reserving a cup of the hot water. Place the pasta in a serving bowl, add the onions (swirl some of the reserved water around in the skillet to get out every tasty bit) and the blue cheese, and toss together to melt the cheese and coat the pasta. Add more of the pasta-cooking water if you'd like it saucier. Serve hot.
• A salad with slightly bitter greens goes well with this sweet, rich pasta. Or toss endive with Toasted Pecan Vinaigrette (page 222). Peach Brown Betty (page 268) is a sweet ending.