Linguine with Caramelized Onion Sauce
I crave this dish and love to make it. It comes from the Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and it is definitely a classic. The onions are caramelized or stewed for an hour. It sound laborious but it is not because you don’t stir them at all during this step. The result of the stewing is amazing caramelized onions that form the basis of this sauce. Sweet onions, white wine, a good amount of black pepper, parsely, and parmesan together make this sauce deliciously simple.
Marcella Hazan calls this Smothered Onion Sauce. The caramelized onions become slightly savory once you add wine, lots of black pepper, and finally Parmesan cheese.
The recipe is simple to make. This pasta is delicious and perfectly balanced in every way.
Get started and give yourself enough time to caramelize the onions (1 hour). You can do that step in advance. Gather up the ingredients and get going.
2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2-3 pounds onions (3 large onions), sliced very thin, about 6 cups
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of pasta (linguine or spaghetti)
Put the butter, olive oil, and onions with a dash of salt in a large saute or chef’s pan. Cover the pan and turn on the heat very low. Cook the onions for an hour until they become very soft.
Uncover the pan, raise the heat to medium high, and cook the onions until they become colored a deep, dark gold. Let the liquid the onions created boil away.
Add liberal grindings of black pepper, about 1 tablespoons. Add salt to taste. Remember the onions become very sweet and need enough salt and pepper to contrast the sweetness. Add the wine, turn up the heat, and stir frequently while the wine bubbles away. Add the parsley, stir thoroughly, and remove the sauce from the heat.
NOTE: You can cook the sauce in advance up to the point you add the parsley. Once your pasta is ready, reheat the sauce over medium heat, add the parsley just before draining the pasta.
Toss the sauce with the cooked drained pasta, adding the Parmesan as you toss.
Serve immediately with additional Parmesan, crusty bread, and some crisp wine.