Orecchiette With Chicken, Caramelized Onions, And Blue Cheese

Total Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, quartered and cut into thin slices
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/3 lb)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 lb orecchiette
• 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

Recipe

• 1 in a large nonstick frying pan, melt the butter with 2 tablespoons of oil over moderately high heat. add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned, about 25 minutes. remove.
• 2 add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and reduce the heat to moderate. season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper and add to the pan along with the rosemary. cook the chicken until brown, about 5 minutes. turn and cook until almost done, about 3 minutes longer. add the garlic. cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. cover the pan, remove from the heat, and let steam for 5 minutes. cut the chicken into 1/4-inch slices.
• 3 meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orecchiette until just done, about 15 minutes. reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta water. drain the pasta and toss with 2 tablespoons of the pasta water, the onions, the chicken with pan juices, the blue cheese, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. if the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water.