Baked Skillet Pasta With Cheddar And Spiced Onions Food

BAKED SKILLET PASTA WITH CHEDDAR AND SPICED ONIONS

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add onions and bay leaf, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and browned in spots, 12 to 20 minutes. (Reduce heat if the pan starts to scorch.) Lower heat to medium, and stir in coriander, ground cumin, cayenne and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 more minute. Transfer half the onions to a bowl and reserve (leave the bay leaf in the skillet).
• Add garlic, cumin seeds, pepper and allspice to the skillet, and stir. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the juice from the canned tomatoes. Use your hands or kitchen scissors to squish or cut the tomatoes into pieces and add to pan. Fill the empty tomato can with water, and pour into the skillet. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and bring mixture to a simmer. Simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Taste, and add more salt and cayenne if you like. Remove bay leaf.
• As mixture cooks, heat oven to 400 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until just about 2 minutes shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, and drain pasta.
• Stir pasta, reserved pasta water, and parsley into skillet with tomato sauce. Top with reserved browned onions, Cheddar and Parmesan. Transfer to oven and bake until golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. If you like, you can run the pan under the broil to brown the top, or leave it as is. Let cool slightly, top with more parsley, if desired, and serve with hot sauce, if you like.

SPICY SPAGHETTI WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND HERBS

Steps:

• Put a large pot of heavily salted water on and let it come to a boil.
• Meanwhile, cook the onions: Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and pale golden at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Lower heat if the edges start to brown too quickly or raise heat if onions aren't turning golden quickly enough.
• When the water comes to a boil, cook spaghetti according to package directions until just al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta.
• Thinly slice 4 garlic cloves, and stir into golden onions, along with red-pepper flakes. Continue to cook until onions are a rich brown, about 10 minutes longer. If the garlic starts to burn, lower the heat.
• Finely grate remaining garlic cloves, and mash into anchovies using the flat side of your knife. Move some of the onion mixture to the side of the pan and add anchovy paste to bare spot in the skillet. Cook paste for 1 minute, then add herbs and olives, stir everything together, and cook another 1 minute.
• Stir in cooked pasta, butter, and salt to taste, tossing to coat pasta. Add pasta water if it looks dry. Serve with a generous squeeze of lemon, and sprinkle with Parmesan and more chile on top, if desired.

SOUPER SKILLET PASTA

Steps:

• In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef until no pink shows; drain.
• Stir in onion soup mix, oregano, tomatoes and water. Bring to boil; stir in macaroni. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until macaroni is tender. Sprinkle in Parmesan cheese and top with Mozzarella cheese.