Anything But Corn-Fed: Healthy College Cooking in Rural Iowa

First post in a while! I’ve been slacking off on any sort of cooking over winter break (although there has been plenty of eating). I got the New Moosewood Cookbook for Christmas and this was the first recipe I made. Moosewood is like the vegetarian Bible and this pasta was elegant, delicious, complex, nutritious, and just damn pretty.

Caramelized-Onion Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

4 to 6 large onions (6 to 8 cups), thinly sliced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 to 1 cup dry white wine

1 medium bunch arugula, spinach, or other leafy green, stemmed and minced

1 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese

3/4 lb short, shapely pasta (I used farfalle)

1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

parmesan

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium. Cook the onions for about 15 minutes. Add the salt, lower the heat, and cook from 10 minutes to an hour. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes over medium heat. Start cooking the pasta in boiling water and add the minced greens to the onions and cook for about 5 minutes (until wilted). Stir in the cheese over low heat. After draining the pasta, add it to the sauce and stir for a minute to coat in the sauce. Sprinkle on walnuts and parmesan and serve. Serves 4 to 5.

*Toast walnuts: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop the walnuts. Bake until brown, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn them!