Recipe from Michele Baldacci
Adapted by Ali Slagle
Published Feb. 6, 2024
- Total Time
- About 1½ hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- About 1½ hours
- Rating
- 4(290)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This rendition of Florentine spaghetti with red onions is so superlative, it has remained on the menu at Locanda Vini e Olii since the restaurant opened in Brooklyn in 2001. Michele Baldacci, the chef and co-owner, recommends a mixture of white and red onions for a more delicate, saucy result, and cooking them in a covered pot so they slowly braise in olive oil and their own juices. The sweetness of the onions is accented by tarragon and black pepper, plus optional grated cheese (which can be omitted for vegan diners). “We never add anything [else], we’re boring,” Mr. Baldacci said, but reckons livers would be delicious. —Ali Slagle
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings (about 2 cups sauce)
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1pound white onions (about 3 medium), sliced ¼-inch-thick
- ½pound red onion (about 1 medium), sliced ¼-inch-thick
- Salt
- 12ounces spaghetti or bucatini
- 2tarragon sprigs, leaves only (about 2 tablespoons)
- Finely grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional), for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
633 calories; 29 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 81 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 664 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
In a large Dutch oven or skillet with a lid, add the olive oil and white and red onions and set over medium heat. Once sizzling, cook until onions are slightly wilted and starting to sweat but not browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in ½ teaspoon salt, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and translucent but mostly still in strands, about 1 hour. Adjust heat as needed to maintain a simmer, and if the onions are burning, add a few tablespoons of water. (Onions can be made ahead and refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for a couple months.)
Step
2
When you’re ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1½ cups pasta water and drain.
Step
3
Add ½ cup pasta water, the pasta and the tarragon leaves to the onions. Raise heat to medium-high and stir vigorously until the pasta is well coated in sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more pasta water as needed until the noodles are glossy. Season to taste with salt.
Step
4
Transfer the pasta to plates or shallow bowls and cover with cheese (if using) and generous grinds of black pepper.
Ratings
4
out of 5
290
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Cooking Notes
Max Alexander, Rome
No need to drain the pasta and deal with a colander. Do as we do in Italy: Using tongs, transfer pasta directly from the water into the onions. Any clinging water will help make the sauce, then use a ladle to add more simmering pasta water to taste. Tarragon is hard to find in Italy, but it’s a nice idea.
Zeldie
Tarragon is not liked by many including myself so used thyme and sage frommy herb pots instead ; even left somesage to crisp up in olive oil and crumbled it on top of the cheese. caramelized, sautéed onions has been a classic in many pasta dishes. I wouldn’t freeze…looses its deliciousness.
Irie
I'm loving these harmonies of tarragon, onions, black pepper and parmesan, and the comforting sauciness coating the pasta. Brightens up a midwinter midday meal, and a simple vinaigrette green salad on the side.
Ruth's notes
mmg, your note sent me to Marcella Hazan's Onion Sauce recipe. It called for parsley and a bit of white wine. It was out of the world good. So simple yet luxurious to the taste. And onions were on sale! Also agree with the suggestion to sadd the dripping pasta into the sauce. It was perfectly moist. RACS
Karryn Coleman
There are 2 varieties of tarragon, French & Russian: it is the Russian which has the unpleasant liquorice flavour. Personally, I don't consider it the 'real' tarragon. French tarragon is the real deal which has a completely different taste. It is the herb used in béarnaise sauce & any French cooking. The Russian variety is a very poor substitute. Try to find French tarragon although you may have to look it in a garden shop and grow it. The leaves are very different, look up the internet.
Warren
Agree with Zeldie, tarragon is not universally loved so I also used sage along with a bit of oregano. Cooked the onions the day before so that when I came home from work had dinner on the table in 30 minutes, lots of cracked pepper and asiago.Turned out great
mmg
If you like this, check out Marcella Hazan’s smothered onion sauce.
Beth
Recommendations for replacing the tarragon? Maybe savory?
William Wroblicka
Well then, you probably want a recipe that doesn't have onions as the main ingredient in the sauce.
Jeff
To those who don’t care for tarragon, I think herbs de province would work nicely in this dish.
Bea
This dish is more than 800 calories per serving and is likely to be a side dish. Is it heretical to ask if you can cut the oil in half and after the initial cooking, add 3 Tb water instead of oil?
Leskap19
This ended up too sweet for me from the onions and no balancing spice or tang. I added red pepper flakes which helped somewhat
beth
I think either winter or summer savory would work well.
Georage
I doubled the onions, used 1 flat tablespoon of dried tarragon, and 1 pack of spaghetti (16 oz) and it seems pretty perfect. Served with spicy shrimp sauteed in 1/3 parts maple syrup, chili garlic paste, low sodium soy sauce.
spaghetti with onions
Basalmic and butter after an half hour. Beaten egg.
Dennis Schaefer
Instead of using ground pepper, I used crushed peppers instead. You just put about a tablespoon of black peppercorns in a plastic bag and whack them like mad with a mallet. This not only frightens the cat, but is also very satisfying. The crushed peppercorns gave the dish just a little bit of crunchy texture. Yum yum.
Bill
Made exactly per recipe, and it turned out waaay too sweet! Not sure if it was the white onions--I had to uncover them for last 10 minutes to cook out some liquid. And then tarragon just added sweetness. Lemon juice helped, but not enough. One and done!
Charles Michener
Per recipe, the results were a little too sweet for my taste (all those onions!) and the tarragon (French) was interesting but odd (un-Italian). Next time, I used a splash of Pinot Grigio with the onions and gruyere instead of parmesan. Its nuttiness really worked to balance the sweetness. Finished with a garnish of minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest and a good pinch of Urfa Biber, the wonderful Turkish chili pepper, which improves everything it touches.
Erin H.
Made as written. Way, way too sweet for my hubby and I. I was scrambling at the end to balance the taste. Served with fresh lemon wedges, red pepper flakes and chili crisp and more reserved pasta water on the table which helped a bit. The range of opinions on this recipe is interesting.
Denise
My New England yankee mother learned to cook from her Italian mother-in-law and father-in-law. She made something similar to this starting with the drippings from a roast beef while the roast rested. Excluding the tarragon. We would sometimes have this meal for Sunday afternoon dinner with the pasta as a first course. She and my father called it pasta alla genovese. Whether or not the name was accurate doesn’t matter. It was simple and one of the most delicious things she would make.
Chris
I have been making Onion Spaghetti for 50 years, with these differences: Drain pasta, put back in the empty pot, heat off. Add a beaten egg, and stir (like a Carbonara). Add a handful of chopped parsley. Spaghetti, browned onions, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, cheese. Keep it simple. I love garlic but not in this one. Maybe some red pepper flakes at the table.
MJC
My husband must be on a low carb diet. We use high protein very low carb hearts of palm noodles. They are all ready (no cooking) so no pasta water. What can I substitute so that the sauce is comparable to the one in the recipe?
Van
I appreciate the comments about substituting other herbs for the tarragon. I find that even a modest amount of tarragon can dominate a dish. While I respect the desire to keep simple dishes simple, I might be tempted to add maybe one crushed and chopped garlic clove to the onions when they cooking. I'm a fan of garlic and find it a plus to most pasta dishes, but when making a dish the first time I try to closely follow the recipe so I can appreciate the dish as the chef/cook intended.
larry
Recipe seems simple but taste is complex. For caramelizing onions, after about a half hour, added 1 tb butter and1 tsp balsamic vinegar. Served with braised portobellos in an apple cider reduction.
Leskap19
This ended up too sweet for me from the onions and no balancing spice or tang. I added red pepper flakes which helped somewhat
Joe
For the little effort that went into this, it turned out delicious. Couldn’t get tarragon so threw some thyme sprigs in with the onions—still great.
Rose
It's plain. I love onions that is why I made it and while they cooked my house smelled wonderful. Followed recipe (tho I questioned its reduced ingredients) but the end result... Meh. Has no pop or that much taste. I think this recipe would benefit from a hit of fresh garlic in the onions as they cook and I would add more tarragon that suggested and salt at the end. Prob won't make again.
Larry McCallum
Ali, "so superlative" does not compute. Superlatives are non-modifiable. And "superlative" is a superlative.
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