Warm spaghettino with Coratina olive oil, goat cheese, and onion molasses: how Andrea Pasqualucci is putting a new spin on the classic “pasta and onions.”

Ingredients for 4 people

360 g Verrigni spaghettini
130 g aged “Anarchico” goat cheese
10 basil leaves
10 beefsteak tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
10 red onions
10 g honey
10 ml red wine vinegar
5 ml lemon juice
Garlic to taste
Garlic flowers to taste

Method

For the onion syrup, clean and cut the red onions into four wedges. Place the trimmings in the oven and let them char. Then blend them to obtain an ash that will be used at the end to finish the dish. Place the cleaned onions in a saucepan, cover with water, and after bringing to a boil, let them simmer covered for two hours.

Pass the onions and the remaining water through a food mill, return to the heat, and let it reduce until it reaches a syrupy consistency. Add the honey and vinegar, let it cool, and refrigerate. Dice the beefsteak tomatoes and quickly sauté them in a pan with oil, the garlic clove, and the basil.

Remove the garlic and basil leaves, then process the tomatoes with their liquid in a food processor. Set the resulting liquid aside. Cut the aged goat cheese into small pieces and place it in a blast chiller.

Once frozen, quickly pulse it to create a snow-like crumble of frozen cheese and store it in the freezer. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water for four minutes, drain it, and finish cooking it in a pan for another three minutes using the liquid obtained from the tomato extraction. Transfer the pasta to a very large bowl and toss it with the julienned basil, lemon juice, salt, and a generous drizzle of cold Coratina extra virgin olive oil straight from the fridge. This will create an emulsion and the temperature of the pasta will begin to drop.

Take a flat plate, place the onion molasses in the center, arrange a nest of spaghettini on top, finish with a few drops of molasses, a little onion ash, and finally a generous spoonful of goat cheese snow. Garnish with garlic flowers. Serve immediately.