Kaoru: Pasta with Carmelized Onions & Yogurt

What a refreshing and delicious summertime dish! Both my sister and I were surprised with how light it was and enjoyed how the incredibly sweet, sautéed maui onions were juxtaposed with the (freshly grated) salty Pecorino Romano. Some of the tweaks I made to this dish: sheep, starch and sweet peas.

SHEEP: Like Jer, I prepared the dish with goat cheese yogurt. I’d love to know how the sheep’s milk version tastes. Where does one find sheep’s milk yogurt anyway? I also didn’t see the point of draining the yogurt, only to add more liquid even if it is pasta water. So I skipped the step entirely. Call me lazy... I thought it was pretty clever! Besides, I don’t have any cheesecloth or coffee filters.

STARCH: I used rigatoni since I couldn’t find tagliatelle. It wasn’t ideal, but the grooves on the rigatoni helped catch the yogurt and I thought it was fine. And while I personally am a sucker for carbs, I decided that one pound of pasta for four servings was still rather aggressive. Instead, I boiled 3/4 pound of pasta which was the right amount. To balance out the carbs, I roasted a five-pound chicken (stuffed with juicy lemons from my sister’s abundant Meyer lemon tree) as well. The pairing was terrific & my nephew heartily gobbled up the chicken. After dinner I used the chicken bones to make broth, something I love to keep on hand in the freezer in 1-2 cup batches.

SWEET PEAS: Since I wanted to incorporate another vegetable (like Julie) & color in to the meal, I added peas to the dish. The peas at the farmer’s market have been calling out to me every week recently and I’ve been itching to cook with them. I simply de-podded and cooked them for a few minutes in the onion mixture. While they retained their beautiful color, the peas turned out just a tad shriveled. If I use them again in this dish, I will cook them separately & toss them in with the onions immediately prior to serving. I am sure the extra effort would mitigate any pea shrinkage. Nevertheless, the peas added color, another layer of sweetness as well as texture… the perfect summer veggie for this perfect summer dish.