So
you've spent three or four or five bucks on a wee bunch of donut-shaped
little Italian onions. There's no shortage of recipes for them: baked,
fried, glazed (think Ottolenghi), but these invariably require a bowlful of
onions. And who wants to spend $20 or more just for one recipe's-worth of onions?
Here's an idea that takes just a few perfect local jewels of allia, and through
the magic of Italian simplicity and devotion to the very best ingredients,
makes a thoroughly elegant and satisfying dinner for two in half an hour.
In
addition to the onions, you'll need good quality pasta. You want the artisanal, bronze-die, imported stuff. I get mine at Marshalls / Home Goods for a song. Mass-produced pasta, even Barilla, is dried at a higher temperature---that's why it's a darker color---that affects flavor and nutrition, and the smooth surface makes the sauce less apt to stick. This is especially important for lighter, more fluid sauces like this one.
I'm a fan of Parmigiano Reggiano, although I want to point out that IT IS NOT the "Undisputed King of Cheeses," an opinion that is easily and obviously demolished by simple disputation. But for pasta I almost always use grated pecorino cheese. The flavor is more forte.
An assertive herb note is important here, and I went with sage from my big pot of herbs out back. Rosemary, or a combination if the two, is also a good choice. A sprinkling of parsley won't cut it.
This is easy-peezy. But get the onions cooking in advance. Remember the motto is The Sauce Waits for the Pasta!
For Two:
200g high quality spaghetti
4-6 cipollini
3 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1/3 cup grated pecorino Romano
extra virgin olive oil
sale and pepper
Put a big pot of salted water on to boil and heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Trim the cipollini but keep the stems intact. Cut them into wedges: quarters for small ones, Sixths for bigger ones. Any bits that separate during cutting can be cooked in a skillet for a few minutes to soften.
Toss wedges to coat with a bit of olive oil and salt and roast in a pan on parchment paper until soft and slightly charred at the edges. It should take 15 minutes or so but keep an eye on them.
When the onions are done, start the pasta.
Put a sauté pan on medium heat, add a few tablespoons oil, and cook any of the separated onion pieces to soften, then add the sage and cook for a minute. Then transfer the onions from the oven to the pan and turn the heat to low
By now the pasta will be almost done. Cook it for a minute less than the package says. Ladle a half cup +/- of cooking water into the pan and stir the ingredients well. Ladle another half cup into a bowl just in case and drain the pasta.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce, turn up the heat, and add the cheese gradually while tossing. Add the reserved water if necessary to reach a creamy consistency. Taste for salt and pepper and serve on warm plates. Drizzle with more oil if desired
Wine? This works with just about any Italian wine, red or white. We drank a nebbiolo.
