Spaghetti al Sugo di Cipolle Varie (Spaghetti with Mixed Onion Sauce)

This recipe calls for shallots, red onions, and leeks. I decided to fake it with yellow onions, garlic, and leeks. I sautéed half an onion with a bit of garlic to try to approximate the shallots. Used yellow onions in place of red. And came up slightly short on shallots. I also ended up using rotini rather than spaghetti. TF quite liked to rotini, but I definitely prefer spaghetti or spaghettini with this one.

The flavour of the sauce was great, but I found it somewhat lacking in... substance. It was all starch and oil with no protein. I have another cookbook, The Good Egg, that features a very similar recipe featuring eggs fried on top of sautéed onions and garlic. When you toss the pasta with the egg-onion concoction, the whites break up and mix through the noodles and the soft yolks coat the noodles and form a sort of sauce (similar to how carbonara works). I decided to add a few eggs to the pasta to make it a little more filling. I think the eggs did improve matters, but I still feel like it was missing something. I might try adding some scallions or a pinch of red chile flakes next time. Having the full measure of leeks would probably also help.

Spaghetti al Sugo di Cipolle Varie

The Classic Pasta Cookbook by Giuliano Hazan

Ingredients

• 450g spaghetti
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. thinly sliced shallots
• 2 c. thinly sliced red onions¹
• 350g leeks, white parts only, cut into thin strips 2" long
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 eggs (optional)
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Combine olive oil and shallots over medium heat and cook until lightly coloured.
2. Add onions and leeks and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Add 1/4 c. water, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until very soft and tender.
4. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil for the pasta.
5. Uncover the sauce and raise the heat to medium-high.
6. Cook, stirring occasionally until the liquid has evaporated and the leeks and onions begin to brown.
7. Salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook until al dente.
8. Add the wine and parsley to the sauce and cook until wine has almost completely evaporated.
9. If using eggs, add them at this point, frying until whites are set but yolks are still very soft.
10. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce.
11. Add the Parmesan and toss again.

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¹ These quantities were fine, but I don't think I'd be worried about going up to 3 or 4 c. for the onions next time. ^Back