eatbensmeat

So, not even really sure what to call this, it’s something we just made up. It’s a pasta dish. You caramelize a bunch of onions really hard until they’re medium brown, then mix in a half a pound of roasted and mashed garlic, and go from there. It’s very decadent and gives you the most horrifying farts the next day but it’s delicious.

I caramelize onions using baking soda. It only takes a very small amount, but it speeds up the process dramatically.

Also, this was part of a day of drunk cooking, so my measurements might be a bit off, but it’s pretty close.

Ingredients

2/3 pound shelled garlic (available at a lot of grocery stores, now, I do not envy anybody trying to shell that much garlic by hand)

2 tablespoons olive oil, for roasting the garlic

1 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter or bacon fat, for frying

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 pound bacon, diced

1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 cup heavy cream

1 pound rigatoni

1/2 cup shredded fresh parmesan

Directions

First off, heat your oven to 400. Toss your garlic cloves with olive oil until coated, then transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Throw that in the oven. Cooking time will vary wildly depending on your oven, you can start checking it at 30 minutes and every 5 or 10 after that. it’s done when you can mash a big clove with the back of a spoon. Take it out and set it aside to cool. If your garlic is a bit dried out, remove it immediately from the cookie sheet and put in a bowl to cool.

Now, put the onions, butter, and baking soda in a pan over medium heat, along with a splash of water and stir frequently as it cooks. After 10 minutes, add the bacon and keep stirring until the onions are really brown, somewhere between a hershey bar and the color of khakis. If you taste them, it should be slightly sweet and buttery. If at any point it starts to stick to the pan, add another splash of water. You definitely don’t want this to burn.

While your onions are caramelizing, mash up your roasted garlic. Once the onions are done, add in the garlic, cream, red pepper flakes, and parmesan, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Keep it on a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The sauce is done, now you just need something to put it on. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta. Before you drain it, reserve a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Combine the pasta water with the sauce and stir until it thickens, then toss the pasta with the sauce until combined. Eat and enjoy! Does great with meatballs.