Radiatore with Caramelized Onions & White Wine

This morning I ran hill repeats. Just for kicks. And I thought I was going to have a heart attack -- several times. Then I took almost 2 hours to mow and weed-whack the lawn (which, by the way, has some nice little hills of its own). All before lunch.

I am so done for the rest of the day.

I seriously have a lack a motivation to do anything else I had planned for today. Which means it's a good thing this wasn't on tonight's menu. Caramelized onions and I have a love-hate relationship. I love to eat them, but really get annoyed when I have to make them. To truly do caramelized onions right you have to go low and slow -- sometimes taking up to an hour or more to get them just.right.

The night I made this dish I just did not have the patience for them. Clearly. As evidenced by my nice pale-looking onions. I will say, I factored in 20 minutes, as stated in the recipe, for these. 30 minutes later, well, I got hungry. So I gave up and ate them anyways. Even though they didn't get to that nice dark golden brown stage, I did cook them long enough to bring out the sweeter side which paired nicely with the white wine and garlic.

Radiatore with Caramelized Onions and White Wine

Adapted from: Cooking Light, April 2011

1/2 cup panko
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
2 cups sweet yellow onions, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
8 ounces uncooked radiatore pasta, or other medium pasta
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together panko, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Spread the breadcrumb mixture evenly across a baking sheet. Bake for 3 minutes, stir, then bake for an additional 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer pan to a rack to cool.

Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add 1 teaspoon garlic and wine, tossing to combine. Increase heat to medium-high and cook for 1 minute. Add broth. Reduce liquid to about 1/2 cup; about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

Once the liquid in the onion mixture has reduced, stir in the pasta, remaining salt, and pepper. Serve sprinkled with toasted panko.

Serves: 4 (1 cup pasta with 2 tablespoons panko)

While the dish was tasty, I'm not quite sure it's worth the work of caramelizing the onions to make it again. Although I suppose that could just be the impatience speaking. Maybe if there was some goat cheese involved I could be convinced...

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 171	Calories from fat 99
% Daily Value
Total Fat 11.0g	17%
Saturated Fat 1.6g	8%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 420mg	17%
Total Carbs 11.1g	4%
Fiber 0.7g	3%
Sugars 1.1g
Protein 2.0g
Vitamin A 0%	Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 3%	Iron 5%