French onion pasta bake

The best dish I've ever made. Courtesy of Half Baked Harvest.

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• Best for: dinner, serves 6 (halved recipe pictured)

• Difficulty: medium

• Time: 1 1/4 hours total (includes chopping, resting)

• Recommended pairings: a light green salad

• If you like this, try... Baked ziti

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I made this on a rainy day, and it turned out to be my favorite of everything I've cooked in the past few years. I can't recommend it enough. This pasta dish is rich, savory, and perfectly recreates everything to love about french onion soup. French onion soup, or soupe à l'oignon, is a favorite of my Dad's. He grew up in Paris, and passed on to me an obsession with caramelized onions. He very much approved of this.

Ingredients

4 tbsp butter

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

2 tsp honey

1 cup dry red wine, I recommend Cabernet Sauvignon

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cremini or wild mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)

salt

pepper

3 cups low sodium chicken broth (use vegetable broth, if vegetarian)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

1 pound of your favorite short cut pasta, I recommend ziti or penne (I used Banza ziti)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper of 1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/4 cups heavy cream, whole milk, or canned coconut milk

2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

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First...

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Then...

Melt the butter, onions, and honey together in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the wine, until the wine cooks into the onions. Continue to cook another 8-10 minutes until you've used the 1/2 cup of wine and the onions are deeply caramelized.

Then...

Add the garlic, mushrooms, thyme, and season with salt and pepper, cook another 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine, the broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and the pasta. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir frequently until the pasta is al dente and the broth has been absorbed, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the cayenne, cream/milk, and 1/2 cup gruyere cheese. Remove from the heat.

Then...

Transfer the pasta to a baking dish. Top with the remaining gruyere cheese.

Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned on top. Broil for 1-minute for browning, if desired.

Finally...

Cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh thyme. Enjoy!