One of my favorite meatless dishes, Makarounes me Tsiknosi is traditional Karpathan dining at its best. Bite-sized pasta tossed in caramelized onions, cooked in butter and olive oil is an easy weeknight meal and delicious for leftovers the next day.
First, place a pot of water to boil on the stove.In a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, melt a stick of butter and a 1/4 cup of olive oil.
Add your chopped onions to the melted butter/oil mixture and stir frequently. The onions will begin to cook, releasing a fragrant aroma that is sure to cause your saliva to drool!
Meanwhile, when the water comes to a boil, add two packages of cavatelle to the water along with a generous tablespoon or two of salt to season the water. Cook according to package directions. Usually about 4-5 minutes until the pasta begins to float.
Drain the pasta into a colander and then place back into the cooking pot, or in a dish if you're ready to serve. Drizzle with olive oil for flavor and to avoid sticking.
Continue stirring the onions until they achieve a golden brown color. Don't let them burn!
Spoon the caramelized onions over the cavatelle and stir to incorporate all of the delicious flavors
Top with grated fontina or your choice of sharp cheese.Enjoy!
While this dish is fairly easy to make, the caramelized onions do need babysitting. It takes roughly 20 minutes to achieve the golden brown sweetness that makes this dish such a standout. But in order to get there, you need to constantly stir the onions or else, they may burn and ruin the dish. Burned onions are bitter and best thrown right into the trash (trust me, I've learned from experience!).