Vegetarian one-pot French onion pasta with Alpine cheese

Vegetarian one-pot French onion pasta: wholewheat rigatoni cooked in stock with caramelised onions, thyme and Alpine cheese. A dinner that tastes like French onion soup.

At a glance

• Serves 4
• Prep time: 15 min
• Cooking time: 45 min
• Total time: 60 min
• Calories: 632 kcal per serving
• Protein: 25 g
• Fat: 22 g
• Carbs: 78 g

Ingredients

• 1 kg onions
• 30g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 l vegetable stock
• 350g wholewheat rigatoni
• 120g Alpine cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 1 bunch of chives

Method

You’ll need: saucepan · chopping board · knife · grater · wooden spoon

1. Halve the onions and slice them into thin strips.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a wide pan. Fry the onions with the salt over a medium heat for 30 min, stirring now and then, until soft and deep golden brown.
3. Add the chopped garlic and thyme leaves, fry both for 1 min and deglaze with the balsamic vinegar.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock, bring it to the boil and add the rigatoni. Cook uncovered, stirring, for 12 to 14 min, until al dente and the stock is almost absorbed.
5. Take the pan off the heat, grate in the Alpine cheese and stir until it has melted. Season with pepper.
6. Finely snip the chives and scatter them over the pasta.

Good to know

French onion pasta is onion soup you eat with a fork: slow-fried onions, stock and cheese, just with pasta instead of bread. The trend from the US cooks everything in one pot. The half hour of frying the onions is worth it.

Swaps

Alpine cheese → Gruyère (as in the original). Wholewheat rigatoni → durum wheat rigatoni (milder, 2 min shorter). Balsamic vinegar → apple cider vinegar. Butter → olive oil (dairy-free apart from the cheese).

Cooking tips

Don't fry the onions too hot, or they'll turn bitter instead of sweet. If anything catches on the bottom of the pan, loosen it with a splash of stock.

Storage

Leftovers keep for 2 days in the fridge; reheat them with a little stock, as the pasta keeps soaking it up.

Allergens

Contains gluten and milk; no egg or nuts. Alpine cheese is often made with animal rennet – for strictly vegetarian cooking, use cheese made with microbial rennet.