Pasta With Carrots, Risotto-Style

If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I’m a HUGE pasta lover. Pasta dinners are pretty much my #1 go-to food, especially if I’m feeding a bunch of people (or want some awesome leftovers for the week). This particular pasta dish – Risotto-Style Pasta With Carrots — is one that I’ve made many times, but never photographed/blogged about until now, because it gets gobbled up so quickly! So, the last time I made it, I made sure to set aside a few minutes to take a couple quick pictures, so I could share it with y’all.

First, onions, pasta, + carrots are toasted in butter, bringing out complex, sweet, nutty flavors. Then, hot broth is added gradually to cook the pasta risotto-style, which results in a creamy, lush pasta. Finally, more butter + parmesan are added, adding even more richness and creaminess to the dish. The original recipe calls for carrots, which I did use here, but my husband (wisely!) pointed out that this would be great with lots of different types of root vegetables. Parsnips, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes would all be a fabulous substitute for the carrots, especially in the fall, when they’re in season. I can’t wait for y’all to try this dish – I promise that you are going to love it!

Pasta With Carrots, Risotto-Style

serves 4-6, adapted from Saveur

Ingredients

8 cups chicken stock (or substitute vegetable broth to make this meal vegetarian)
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1 medium yellow onion, peeled + finely chopped
1 lb. gemelli, uncooked (or substitute any short, twisty pasta – I used trotolle)
8 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, + diced
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano, plus extra for serving
kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper
Leaves from 4 sprigs parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low to keep stock hot.

2. Melt 4 Tbsp. of the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, a good pinch of salt + pepper, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and carrots and cook, stirring often, until pasta is lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

3. Add 1 cup of the hot stock at a time to the pasta, stirring constantly; wait until almost all the stock has been absorbed before adding more. Continue cooking and adding stock (you may have some stock left over) until pasta is tender but firm to the bite, 10–15 minutes.

4. Remove pot from heat and stir in the remaining 1 tbsp. butter and the parmigiano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a warm serving dish and garnish with parsley. Serve with more freshly grated parmigiano, if you like.

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