Creamy Miso Onion Sauce with Chili Crunch

 

Preparation You'll need: A large pan A large pot with lid
Ingredients Pasta and Sauce (for 2 persons) 250 g pasta (tagliatelle or fettuccine work well) 200 g cream 2 tsp. Miso paste (light) 1 tsp. granulated chicken or vegetable stock 1 tsp. brown cane sugar 1 tsp. Worcester sauce 2 medium onions 3 cloves of garlic Some cress Parmesan
Ingredients Crunch (for 2 persons) 30-35 g hazelnuts Of course, any kind of nuts/seeds will do. But they should be hard for the crunch. I find cashew nuts, for example, too soft (but they also taste good ;-) 15 g panko breadcrumbs (normal breadcrumbs also work very well) 1 well heaped tsp. chili flakes 2 cloves of garlic
First Steps A red wine goes well with it. If you want to drink rosé with it, you should have some in the fridge, otherwise it's too late now *grin* - hint: freezer compartment. Cover a large pot and bring approx. 3 litres of water to the boil, add 2-3 tsp of salt, switch off and keep ready. Meanwhile... For the sauce: Cut 2 medium onions into strips. Finely chop 3 cloves of garlic, set aside. For the crunch: Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic, put to one side in a medium bowl (this is where the finished crunch will go later and be placed on the dining table), add 1 heaped tsp of chilli flakes. Roughly chop 30-35 g hazelnuts. Measure out 15 g breadcrumbs.
Cooking The crunch: Heat 2-3 Tbsp olive oil in large frying pan and toast hazelnuts and breadcrumbs until light brown (2-3 minutes, good medium heat). Now add the garlic/chilli flakes and toast for a further 1-2 minutes, stirring well. Season with salt and pepper and place in a suitable bowl together with a teaspoon on the dining table. You can also add salt, pepper and/or parmesan, as well as some chopped cress. The sauce: Heat 1-2 Tbsp of oil in a pan that has only been wiped out briefly over a good medium heat and melt 1-2 Tbsp of butter in it. Sauté the onion strips and remaining garlic for approx. 10-15 minutes until dark brown. You should find out how long the pasta needs by now at the latest, while you are busy sautéing ;-) Then cook the pasta accordingly (1-2 minutes less than prescribed, it will still be in the pan). You need 150 ml of the pasta water for the sauce before you tip it away! Skim off and put to one side. Preheat the pasta plates in the oven at 100°C. As soon as you have the 150 ml of cooking water and both the pasta (tip into a sieve and set aside briefly) and the onions are ready, you can continue: Add 1 tsp brown cane sugar to the onions and stir until melted. Add 2 tsp miso paste and 1/2 tsp grained stock, stir briefly and deglaze with 75 ml water. Simmer until almost all the water has evaporated. Then add 1 tsp Worcester sauce, 200 ml cream and the reserved pasta water, stir well and season with salt and pepper. Finally, simmer the pasta in the sauce for 1-2 minutes, turning occasionally.