How do you develop a food product? The same way you develop a recipe – by winging, testing, and perfecting!
I’m thrilled with the result of my Italian Onion Soup ala Barilla Tortellini, created for a Foodbuzz Italy trip contest. I was already a fan of caramelizing red onions – and in fact think caramelized onions could be a food business in itself – when the idea of “Italian Onion Soup” (“French” onion soup with an Italian twist) using Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini came to mind.
The tortellini makes this onion soup more substantial as a meal than the bread and cheese-topped style of onion soup. Using the one pot fits with Barilla’s goal to help families cook quickly. It’s a bit longer than the simple boiled pasta but a fun twist for a party or any dinner.
I love everything Italian, and it was fun to marry the Barilla pasta with California’s bounty, using rosemary from down the street (I’m sure my neighbor won’t miss it!), Napa red wine, and California olive oil. When I’m in Italy it will be fun to re-create this using all Italian ingredients!
Servings: About 4 primi sized; or 2 full meal size
Time: 30 minutes total
Equipment: You’ll need a broiler-proof saucepan.
Ingredients
1 cup Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini
1 medium red onion, cut in half and sliced thin
2 cups warm water
1 c grated or shredded parmesan cheese (parmigiano !)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T red wine, of any quality – it still does the trick!
1 T sea salt
1 T ground black pepper
1 T chopped fresh or dried rosemary
Rosemary for garnish (optional)
Pour olive oil and wine in a broiler-proof sauce pan (generally non-stick pans will not work). Add onions and cook over medium heat.
Caramelize the onions stirring frequently until they are translucent, dark, with some crispy brown on the edges. The darker the onions, the sweeter and more flavorful they will be. Remove from the heat.
Slowly add 2 cups of water to the onions. (It will smoke for a second as the water hits the pan.)
Pour the 1 cup of tortellini plus salt, pepper, and rosemary into the onion soup mixture.
Cook for about 10 minutes. Add a little more water if you’d like a more soup-like dish. (Most of the water will be absorbed by the tortellini – which gives it a mellow onion flavor.)
Cook over medium heat until tortellini is done, about 10 minutes. In the meantime, pre-heat your broiler. See how it's nice and brown from absorbing the caramelized onion heaven?
Pour or spoon 1 cup of shredded or grated parmesan cheese evenly over the tortellini.
Broil for several minutes checking frequently, until the top is browned.
Serve it straight from the pan.
Even better than I expected, with rich onion flavor soaked into the tortellini shell. My friends and neighbors loved it!
