Whole-grain Penne With Walnuts, Caramelized Onions, And Ricotta

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 7 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
• 1 3/4 cups walnut halves or 1 3/4 cups cashews
• 10 ounces whole wheat penne or 10 ounces whole wheat fusilli
• 1 lb ricotta salata or 1 lb feta cheese, crumbled
• 2/3 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (plese not the bottled stuff)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Recipe

• 1 in a large frying pan over high heat, cook onions in 3 tablespoons olive oil with sugar and 2 teaspoons salt, stirring and turning often, until onions begin to release their juices and turn golden, 10 to 13 minutes.
• 2 reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions turn a caramel color and become quite sweet, 35 to 40 minutes more.
• 3 if onions begin to stick to the pan or char during cooking, reduce heat.
• 4 meanwhile, in a small frying pan (not nonstick) over medium-low heat, toast walnuts or cashews, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden, about 10 minutes.
• 5 remove from heat and cool slightly.
• 6 pour nuts into a zip-lock plastic bag and lightly crush with a rolling pin.
• 7 set aside.
• 8 when onions are nearly done, cook pasta in boiling salted water until tender to the bite, 9 to 12 minutes or according to package instructions.
• 9 drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking water.
• 10 toss caramelized onions with pasta, walnuts, ricotta salata, parsley, reserved cooking water, lemon juice, pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• 11 season to taste with salt & crushed red pepper flakes, if using
• 12 serve hot.