Caramelized Shallot Pasta - Alison’s Version

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated pecorino

Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavor while being lower in calories.

butter

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Olive oil is healthier and can be used for sautéing.

walnuts

🥗Healthier: pumpkin seeds

💰Cheaper: sunflower seeds

Pumpkin seeds provide a similar crunch and are often less expensive.

balsamic vinegar

🥗Healthier: apple cider vinegar

💰Cheaper: red wine vinegar

Apple cider vinegar offers a tangy flavor with fewer calories.

Peel 6 large shallots.

Slice the shallots very thinly.

Set the sliced shallots aside.

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Add the sliced shallots to the dutch oven and stir to coat with the oil.

Slice 4 garlic cloves very thinly and finely chop 1 garlic clove.

Add the sliced garlic to the onions and stir to combine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the onions are softened and caramelized with golden brown fried edges.

Add red pepper flakes and anchovy paste to the onions and stir to combine, cooking for about 2 minutes.

Add an entire tube of tomato paste or a small can of tomato paste and season again with salt and pepper.

Stir constantly while cooking until the tomato paste has started to cook in the oil and is a deep red color, about 2 minutes.

Save half of the tomato mixture for later and keep half in the pot.

Boil pasta in a big pot with plenty of water, salting the water until it tastes like the ocean.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water about 2 minutes before it reaches al dente.

Take the pasta out of the pot and add it to the sauce, along with half a cup of pasta water.

Let the pasta cook in the remaining sauce, scraping up any bits on the bottom.

The pasta is ready when the sauce is glossy and thick.

Twist a bunch of pasta onto your plate.

In a bowl, mix a cup of chopped parsley with the chopped garlic and garnish the pasta with it.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens