Pasta with an Oniony Sauce from the Slow Cooker

Pasta with Caramelized Onion, Feta and Italian Sausage

I think I buy more onions than I do any other single vegetable. Every time I make dinner it seems I am chopping onions for something. I am sure I am part of the reason that onions are the second most important horticultural crop after tomatoes. But I don't worry about how much onion I consume. It's said to be effective against many bacteria and even the World Health Organization supports the use of onions for the treatment of poor appetite and to prevent atherosclerosis.

Last spring I cut a recipe out of the newspaper for a slow cooker caramelized onion pasta. It was stuck to the fridge, forgotten until a few days ago when I was looking for something to do with the two bags of yellow onions I bought on sale. I won't share that recipe with you because I didn't have a spare container of creme fraiche or arugula in the kitchen to make it with. But I liked the idea of the recipe, so I tried making it with what I had on hand: spaghetti, some sweet Italian turkey sausages, goat's milk feta, and a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. I think you could safely substitute any pasta or sausage and try another type of meltable salty cheese and get a good result. You can drain some of the olive oil from the tomatoes if you like. I didn't drain all of it when I added my tomatoes and I rather liked the creaminess of the dish.

This turned out to be very tasty. In fact, my husband said it was one of the best things I've ever made and was still raving about it the day after I made it. He's such a fan. I love him.

Here's my recipe.

Use processor to make quick work of onions

MA's Pasta with Caramelized Onion, Feta and Italian Sausage

3 lbs yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb (or 6) Italian sausages, cut into 1” chunks
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
500 grams pasta
1 ½ cups feta cheese, drained, divided into 1 cup and ½ cup
fresh ground pepper

In a large slow cooker, place onions, olive oil, sausages and tomatoes. Cook on high for 5 ½ hours.

When onion mixture is cooked, prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

Add pasta to onion mixture. Mix in 1 cup of the feta and season with pepper. 

Crumble remaining feta on top of each serving. 

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Pasta with Caramelized Onions, Feta and Sausage