Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Radiatore with Caramelized Onions & White Wine


This morning I ran hill repeats. Just for kicks. And I thought I was going to have a heart attack -- several times. Then I took almost 2 hours to mow and weed-whack the lawn (which, by the way, has some nice little hills of its own). All before lunch.

I am so done for the rest of the day.

I seriously have a lack a motivation to do anything else I had planned for today. Which means it's a good thing this wasn't on tonight's menu. Caramelized onions and I have a love-hate relationship. I love to eat them, but really get annoyed when I have to make them. To truly do caramelized onions right you have to go low and slow -- sometimes taking up to an hour or more to get them just.right.

The night I made this dish I just did not have the patience for them. Clearly. As evidenced by my nice pale-looking onions. I will say, I factored in 20 minutes, as stated in the recipe, for these. 30 minutes later, well, I got hungry. So I gave up and ate them anyways. Even though they didn't get to that nice dark golden brown stage, I did cook them long enough to bring out the sweeter side which paired nicely with the white wine and garlic.

Radiatore with Caramelized Onions and White Wine


Adapted from: Cooking Light, April 2011

1/2 cup panko
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
2 cups sweet yellow onions, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
8 ounces uncooked radiatore pasta, or other medium pasta
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together panko, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Spread the breadcrumb mixture evenly across a baking sheet. Bake for 3 minutes, stir, then bake for an additional 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer pan to a rack to cool.

Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add 1 teaspoon garlic and wine, tossing to combine. Increase heat to medium-high and cook for 1 minute. Add broth. Reduce liquid to about 1/2 cup; about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

Once the liquid in the onion mixture has reduced, stir in the pasta, remaining salt, and pepper. Serve sprinkled with toasted panko.


Serves: 4 (1 cup pasta with 2 tablespoons panko)


While the dish was tasty, I'm not quite sure it's worth the work of caramelizing the onions to make it again. Although I suppose that could just be the impatience speaking. Maybe if there was some goat cheese involved I could be convinced...



Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 171Calories from fat 99
% Daily Value
Total Fat 11.0g17%
Saturated Fat 1.6g8%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 420mg17%
Total Carbs 11.1g4%
Fiber 0.7g3%
Sugars 1.1g
Protein 2.0g
Vitamin A 0%Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 3%Iron 5%

7 comments:

  1. You deserve a big bowl. Aw heck you deserve 2!

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  2. I sometimes don't have the patience for caramelizing onions either, but this still sounds evry yummy!! And I love the crazy shaped pasta!

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  3. Who has the patience some nights, don't blame you! I have a recipe similar to thins on my to make list! Can't wait to try!

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  4. I have trouble with caramelized onions too. Either I cook them too quickly and they are too dark, or I underdo them! But the pasta still looks fantastic to me!
    I have trouble with hill repeats too...but who doesn't???

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  5. Oh I can't wait an hour for onions, either... but I can definitely eat up all that's in that bowl!!

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  6. Oh, hill repeats in summer. Quite possibly my least favorite thing ever. But if it meant I got to indulge in a bowl of this pasta, I might do them more than once every couple of weeks. ;)

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  7. This looks simple and lovely - and probably a much needed meal after all that work!

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