Yep, this is exactly as it sounds. Fried onion pasta. Onions cooked in olive oil till golden brown, tossed with pasta and served with lots of parmesan cheese. I originally made this as a quick dinner when I was pretty short on time, and completely uninspired. I’ve recently gone down a YouTube rabbit hole of watching videos with titles like What I Eat in Italy, at my Nonna’s, Mom’s, at home, etc. It’s always home cooking, and while the cooking can take hours, nothing is overly fancy or fussy. But, it all looks insanely delicious.
I think the start of me watching these videos was with Rosie Maio, and then I moved onto videos by Rosa D’Aniello and that is where I was introduced to the fried onion pasta. Her grandmother has made it in her videos, on more that one occasion, and the pure joy of watching her grandfather eat it is enough to convince anyone to make it.
The dish is incredibly simple, and a perfect example of what I love about Italian cooking. Minimal ingredients and letting them shine. The onions have texture, they’re sweet and salty, then everything is topped with lots of nutty grated Parmigiano*. It is perfect.
*Side note here. A non-negotiable for me is the cheese. It has to be Parmigiano (The nuttiness is perfect with the sweet onions). And it needs to be grated in a blender, aka Blender Cheese. I cut my block of cheese into small cubes, maybe like 1cm square, and pulse in a blender until the texture is like course sand. Trust me. Do it this way. You’ll never go back
Jump to Recipe
...the pure joy of watching her grandfather eat it is enough to convince anyone to make it.
Fried Onion Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti or bucatini something round and long
- 2 sweet onions sliced
- 1/2 C olive oil
- Parmigiano Reggiano grated
Instructions
- Add onions and olive oil to a cold pan. Heat to medium and let the onions cook till they begin to brown around the edges. Season with salt after they start getting some color. Cook till they are golden brown around the edges and still have a little bit of texture. They shouldn’t be mush. Set aside, off heat, while you get your pasta cooked.
- Boil your pasta in generously salted water. Drain pasta and saving a little cooking liquid. Toss pasta with cooked onions and add in some of the pasta water if things look too dry.
- To serve, pile up your pasta, shower in cheese and eat.
One thought on Fried Onion Pasta
Another meal even I can make. Thanks Rachel ‼️