This recipe used to be our go-to for entertaining vegetarians — back when vegetarians were, you know, a rare breed. Now, thankfully, the dish has moved into our regular dinner rotation. The hardest part about it is securing the sheep’s milk yogurt [2] — but even that is not really hard because you can swap in with whole milk plain Greek yogurt and suffer very little for it — then it’s just a matter of remembering to cook more onions than you think feels right. And then make more of them. I’m telling you, you’re gonna want a lot of those onions. The contrast between their caramel-ly sweetness and the tangy yogurt……I don’t want to get overly precious here, but: Oh. Boy.
[Photo updated October 2023]
Pasta with Yogurt, Spinach and Sweet Onions
Adapted only slightly from Diane Kochilas, The Glorious Foods of Greece. Note: Sheep’s milk yogurt is preferred here, but if you can’t find it, definitely don’t let it stop you. Swap in cow’s milk, plain, thick, full-fat Greek-style yogurt. It’s crucial to use full-fat to prevent curdling and breaking.
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4-5 large yellow onions sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fettuccini
12 ounces plain sheep’s milk yogurt (such as Old Chatham Creamery [3] brand, make sure it’s plain) or 1 1/2 cups thick, strained full-fat Greek-style plain yogurt
6 ounces fresh spinach (optional)
1 cup grated pecorino or Parm
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. It will seem like a lot of onions, but they will cook down significantly don’t worry. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown, 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta in a large pot of salted water, adding spinach (if using) during the last 30 seconds. Strain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. (<<IMPORTANT!) Toss a little olive oil into the pasta to prevent sticking. In the same pasta pot, whisk together the drained yogurt with the pasta water. Toss pasta with the yogurt mixture. Divide the pasta among 4 bowls. Sprinkle generously with Pecorino and top with onions, and some meaningful grinds of pepper.