French onion orecchiette is like French onion soup in a casserole. It’s super easy and quick to make with a few short cuts.
When I originally saw this recipe at the New York Times, it looked wonderful. I love caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, and orecchiette. The recipe in the New York Times takes longer and is a bit more complicated than this one.
French Onions – Easy
The first thing to do is to make the onions. Use our Caramelized Onion recipe using a slow cooker. Make lots of onions. You can use the extra onions for burgers, for meatloaf, or even to make In&Out’s Animal Fries!
Passive Cooking – Easy
I actually learned something when I made this recipe. Usually, when I cook pasta using the Passive cooking method, I pour boiling water over the pasta, boil for 2 minutes, then let it sit covered for 10 minutes – perfect every time. But, when I made this recipe that calls for broth, I cooked the pasta in broth I made from Better than Bullion. The pasta soaked up the flavor from the broth like a sponge. I only had to make roux to complete the casserole.
Cheese – Use Your Favorite
My favorite grilled cheese sandwich is white cheddar, Gruyère, and a sprinkling of Justice. I had some already grated, so I used that with more Gruyère. I think the white cheddar gave it some extra flavor. You could actually use all white cheddar, or even feta if you wanted. Play around with this recipe and make it yours.
What to Serve with the Casserole
This casserole is rich, so a garden salad would go very well with it. You could also serve steamed broccoli with this, or any other green vegetable. White wine, like Chardonnay, would be very good with this.
French Onion Orecchiette Casserole Recipe
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French Onion Orecchiette Casserole
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon *sauteed onion base
- 3 teaspoon *beef base
- 2 tablespoons Marsala, or sherry
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups water, boiling
- 16 ounces orecchiette
- 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- ⅓ cup *all-purpose flour
- 1 cup caramelized onions
- 6 ounce Gruyere, 2 cups grated
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter, cubed
Instructions
- 1 teaspoon sauteed onion base, 3 teaspoon beef base, 2 tablespoons Marsala, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 4 cups waterPut the bases in a large measuring cup with the Marsala and Worcestershire. Add the hot water and thoroughly mix.
- 16 ounces orecchiettePut the orecchiette in a large sauce pan and pour the hot broth over it. Turn the heat to high and let the pasta boil for 2 minutes. Cover the pasta and turn off the heat. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
- At the end of 10 minutes, set a colander over a large bowl. Drain the pasta into the colander. Set the colander with the pasta aside. Leave the broth in the bowl and set it aside.
- 4 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup all-purpose flourMelt 4 tablespoons of butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. When the butter is bubbling, add the flour and whisk it in, cooking it until it turns white. Add the broth leftover from cooking the pasta, and whisk it as it thickens.
- 1 cup caramelized onionsAdd the caramelized onions and whisk them in until they are separated.
- 6 ounce GruyereAdd the pasta and stir it so all the pasta has been covered by the sauce. Add half of the cheese and mix that in as well.
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons butterSprinkle the top of the casserole with the remaining cheese, then top that with the Panko breadcrumbs. Dot the crumbs with butter.
- Bake the casserole in a 350 °F (177 °C) oven for 20 minutes or until the topping has started to brown. Let the casserole sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
