Easy Italian red onion pasta with guanciale or pancetta

Easy red onion pasta with guanciale alla cipollara.

5 from 5 votes

Easy Italian red onion pasta with guanciale or pancetta

Known as pasta alla cipollara, this delicious red onion pasta recipe comes from the town of Cannara in Umbria, home to some of the best Italian onions. The onions are cooked with guanciale (or pancetta) and wine and then combined with pasta and Pecorino. Easy to make and a must-try for onion lovers!

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Central Italy, Italian, Mediterranean, Umbria

Keyword: guanciale, red onion, rigatoni

Servings:

Calories: 855kcal

Author: Jacqui

Equipment

1 large pot to cook pasta
1 deep skillet to make condiment and mix with pasta.
1 chopping board
1 sharp knife

Ingredients

12 ounces rigatoni pasta
2-3 medium red onions peeled and thinly sliced. Cannara or Tropea onions are traditional.
7 ounces guanciale or pancetta cut into lardons (strips)
2 ounces Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano (you may need more)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
2.5 floz dry white wine half a glass
salt for pasta and to taste
freshly ground black pepper. to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Peel the onions and slice them quite thin. Cut the guanciale or pancetta into lardons (strips).
Sauté the onion in the olive oil on a low to medium heat until they soften. (jammy not caramelized).
Add the guanciale or pancetta lardons to the onions and cook until the fat melts and they start to brown.
Pour in the white wine over a medium heat and allow it to evaporate slightly. Add salt and pepperto taste.
Cook the rigatoni al dente in a pot of boiling salted water according to the package instructions.
Save some pasta cooking water, drain the pasta and add it to the onion and guanciale. Mix together over a low heat.
Add ⅔ of the grated cheese and half a cup of reserved pasta cooking water and mix again over a low heat until you have a creamy sauce. Serve immediately with some more freshly ground black pepper and Pecorino as required.

Notes

You can use different varieties of sweet red onions in this recipe if Cannara or Tropea onions aren’t available. Cipollini onions are a good substitute as are red Bermuda onions or even normal red onions, although it’s worth adding a little sugar when cooking the latter to mimic the taste of sweeter varieties.

This red onion rigatoni can be kept sealed in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat in the microwave with a splash of water or bake in the oven with a sprinkling of grated cheese on top and a drizzle of olive oil.

I used rigatoni from Felicetti, one of my favorite North Italian pasta makers. Of course, you can use other types of short pasta. This recipe is also served with tagliatelle in Cannara.

Both guanciale and Pecorino are salty, so go easy on the salt in the pasta water and adding it to taste.

Nutrition