NEW ORLEANS —
Caramelized Onions
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 yellow onions large
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Creamy pasta sauce
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 oz. mushrooms
- 8 oz. spinach
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 9 oz. tortellini (I used 3-cheese tortellini, refrigerated)
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper when serving
Caramelizing onions
Peel the onions, wash them and thinly slice them.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add sliced onions and cook on high heat for about 10 minutes, constantly stirring with the spatula.
Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking the onions for 10 more minutes, continuing to stir, as onions brown even more without burning. At this point add a pinch of salt over the onions.
Continue cooking for 10 more minutes on medium or low heat, stirring occasionally to make sure onions don’t stick to the bottom of the pan or burn.
In total, you should have cooked onions for 30 minutes. Remove the onions from the skillet onto a plate.
How to make the creamy sauce
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same skillet on medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring, until mushrooms are soft.
Add fresh spinach to the skillet and stir on low heat just until spinach starts to wilt.
Add back the caramelized onions.
Add 1 cup of heavy cream and ¼ teaspoon salt to the mushroom and spinach mixture and bring to a quick boil. Immediately reduce to simmer. Keep stirring while the sauce simmers for a couple of minutes.
Add tortellini
Cook tortellini according to package instructions. Usually, that means to bring a large pot of water to boil. Add tortellini and boil for 7 to 10 minutes. Drain.
Add cooked and drained tortellini to the creamy sauce. Stir on low heat for a couple of minutes to reheat.