Mar 17, 2011
Fantastic! I have now made this twice, and although I think it is delicious as is, I think it is AMAZING with a couple changes - one rather weird-sounding. First - actually caramelize the onions. You cannot caramelize onions in only 10 minutes - sauteed onions are different from caramelized onions. This recipe really benefits from truly caramelized onions, which need to be cooked more slowly over a relatively low heat. Caramelized onions becomes wonderfully sweet - it's sort of amazing that you can get such a flavor from a regular onion (and I did use regular yellow onions.) The sweetness off-sets the gorgonzola cheese, and I think that many people who did not like the recipe might like it if they truly caramelized the onions. Also - the second time I made this, I added a lot of sea salt to the cooking onions, and then took a page from a pork chop recipe I think I invented - I mixed a LOT of balsamic vinegar (much more than called for), apple juice, and a bit more sea salt with the cooked onions, and let it reduce while still over heat. This is quite a departure from the recipe, but it added a wonderful sweet-savory flavor which went well with the cheese. It does not end up tasting like apple juice at all, and it also adds a bit more liquid. I also mixed the pasta/sauce with the cheese very well while it was still warm, so the cheese melted completely, forming just a creamy coating, and added chopped almonds for crunch and a subtle flavor. SO good.
—polarbear
