Caramelized Onion Apple Pasta with Sage

Sweet, Slow, and Deeply Savory

There are dishes that ask for your patience before they give you anything in return. This is one of them. The onions need time. The garlic needs gentleness. The apples, only when the pan is ready, surrender their brightness into something quieter and more complex than you expected. It's an autumn kind of cooking — unhurried, layered, the kitchen softening around you as the smells deepen. Sage arrives at the very end, stirred in off the heat, which feels right. Some things shouldn't be rushed toward.

Ingredients

• 1 large head garlic, roasted
• 3 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 pound Alessi Organic Rigatoni
• 1/2 tablespoons salt for pasta water
• 3/4 cups Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided use
• 2-3 large applies, cored, peeled, and diced (4 cups diced)
• 1/4 teaspoons Alessi All Natural Sea Salt
• 1/4 teaspoons Alessi Whole Black Peppercorns
• 3 tablespoons Alessi Balsamic Vinegar; divided use
• 3/4 cups reserved pasta water
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
• pecan crumble (see below)
• 1 cup firmly packed fresh sage, minced
• • Pecan Crumble • •
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoons Alessi All Natural Sea Salt
• • Garnishes • •
• fresh sage, chopped
• Parmesan cheese
• Alessi Ground Black Peppercorn

Instructions

1. Roast one head of garlic ahead of time.
2. Cut top off bulb, drizzle top with olive oil, submerge bottom half of bulb in bowl of water, roast in microwave for 7-8 minutes, until soft enough to squeeze cloves from bulb, let cool.
3. Set aside.
4. Caramelize onions by sautéing in skillet with 3 teaspoons olive oil.
5. Add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar to finish caramelization.
6. Set aside.
7. Cook pasta al dente per instructions, reserving ¾ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
8. Drain remaining pasta water.
9. Return cooked noodles to dry pot, toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.
10. Set aside.
11. Heat cast iron skillet or pan over medium heat.
12. Add ½ cup olive oil, diced apples, roasted garlic cloves, caramelized onions , ¼ teaspoon each of salt and ground pepper.
13. Use wooden.
14. spoon to break up roasted garlic cloves; they will diffuse and sort of melt into the oil as they cook.
15. Sauté the mixture until apples are fork tender, about 15 minutes.
16. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
17. Make pecan crumble: Place pecans in mini food processor with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ tablespoon nutritional yeast and ¼ teaspoon fine salt.
18. Process until fine and crumbly (about 10 seconds).
19. Set aside.
20. Add cooked pasta to 12-inch sauté pan with apple mixture and toss well.
21. Add reserved pasta water and toss well over medium heat.
22. Sauté for another five minutes until water absorbs.
23. Add baby spinach and pecan crumble during last minute of cooking.
24. Turn off burner and stir in minced sage. Taste and adjust flavors as needed.
25. Serve the pasta hot with desired garnishes (shown with more fresh sage, Parmesan cheese and ground pepper).