The following excerpt and recipe for Caramelized Red Onion Pasta is from Michal Korkosz's new cookbook "POLISH'D: Modern Vegetarian Cooking from Global Poland," available now on Amazon.

If you’ve never had noodles with caramelized onions, now is the time to try them. My favorite variation includes panfried tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, and a dash of soy sauce — big sources of umami flavor. It’s as thrilling and satisfying as a first kiss! Top the pasta with parsley tossed in lemon juice and smoked Twaróg, or farmer cheese, to give it even more flavor and zing.

Caramelized Red Onion Pasta

  • Prep Time:20 mins
  • Cook Time:30 mins
  • Total Time:50 mins
  • Servings:4
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 medium red onions thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt plus more for seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil chopped
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 14 ounces spaghetti bucatini or bavette
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • Juice ½ lemon
  • 1/2 cup smoked Twaróg or farmer cheese
Photo by Michał Korkosz

  • Step 1

    Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, tomato paste, and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook, stirring often, until the tomato paste becomes darker in color, about 3 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce.

  • Step 2

    Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.

  • Step 3

    In a small bowl, combine the parsley and lemon juice and season with salt.

  • Step 4

    Add the pasta and the reserved pasta water to the skillet with the tomato-onion mixture. Cook until the sauce evenly coats the pasta, about 2 minutes.

  • Step 5

    Divide the pasta among four bowls. Top with the parsley and the smoked Twaróg.

Recipe from Polish’d: Modern Vegetarian Cooking from Global Poland © Michał Korkosz, 2023. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available everywhere books are sold. theexperimentpublishing.com