At the heart of this dish are the caramelized onions. Two pounds of sliced onions might look like a lot, but they cook waaaayyyy down, and you want to make sure you have plenty of the jammy, deeply flavored onions to pair with your pasta. There’s no way around it, it does take time to caramelize the onions, but it’s also 100% worth it. A little garlic and fresh thyme go in at the end, plus a glug of dry white wine to enhance all of the flavors and pick up those delicious browned bits in the bottom of the pan.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp.unsalted butter
- 3large yellow onions (about 2 lb. total), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
- 4cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp.fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
- 1/2 c.dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
- 12 oz.dried cavatappi
- 1(32-oz.) box low-sodium beef broth
- 1 c.water
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 c.finely grated Gruyère cheese (about 3 oz.), plus more for serving
Directions
-
- Step 1In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes. (If onions are browning too quickly, stir in a few tablespoons of water, scraping up brown bits on bottom of pot.)
- Step 2Add garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Add pasta, broth, water, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente, 14 to 16 minutes.
- Step 3Stir cheese into pasta until melted and combined. Top with more cheese and thyme before serving.
