Melissa's Mediterranean Pasta

My husband loves this recipe and requests it all the time. I made it up one night using odds and ends in the kitchen about ten years ago.
5 Tbs. of your best Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Salted Butter
½ Medium White Onion – evenly chopped
3 cloves Garlic – evenly and finely chopped
1 lb. Dried Penne Pasta
Salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 oz. Extra Moist Sun Dried Tomatoes – Julienne Cut
1 cup halved Spanish Olives stuffed with Pimento
3 oz. Pine Nuts
2 – 14oz cans quartered Artichoke Hearts - drained
1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Large handful of fresh basil leaves - chopped
½ cup Shredded Asiago Cheese

The sun dried tomatoes should be the moist and chewy kind that do not require re-hydrating.

In a heavy large skillet bring olive oil and butter to a medium high temperature just before smoking. Add chopped white onion and reduce heat to medium. Cook until lightly caramelized – about 20 mins., stirring and tossing so that they cook evenly. Remove from heat. Let cool 5 mins. – add chopped garlic and stir. Set aside.

I like to use white onions because they have lower water content than yellow and maintain better flavor than red when sauteed. If you overcook the onion it becomes bitter. The garlic should be just slightly heated.


Heat another heavy dry skillet until hot, add Pine Nuts to toast. Toss continuously until slightly golden. Do not leave them, they will burn. Remove from skillet just before they are golden - they brown very fast. Put them on a plate to cool.


Bring large pot of water to a boil, add salt, then add Penne and cook 6 – 8 mins. or until as Al-Dente as you like it.

Strain pasta and add to a very large mixing bowl. Pour caramelized onion and garlic with oil over the hot pasta. Salt and Pepper to taste. Stir to coat pasta.

Add sun dried tomatoes, olives, ½ of the pine nuts, artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, and ½ the fresh basil leaves. Stir lightly to mix well.

Transfer to serving bowl, add remaining chopped basil, asiago cheese, and pine nuts on top. Garnish with fresh basil top.
We ate this alfresco last night with bakery whole grain bread, very casually. Tom drank a hearty red Zinfandel, I had my usual Denney house Pinot Gris, and Trey had pomegranate juice. We listened to John Prine. Life doesn't get much better.

Enjoy.