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Onions
Between history and legend
The onion comes from central-northern Asia and Palestine. It has been cultivated for over five thousand years and seems to have been introduced to Egypt by the Caldeans, from where it spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. Numerous varieties are cultivated, which differ in shape, seasonal production and colour. One of the widest known in Italy is the Bassano red onion, a highly appraised vegetable because of its sweet taste. There are two varieties: an early onion, with a thin neck, and a late onion. Thanks to its dry and ventilated microclimate, the area of Bassano is optimal for this vegetable. In the past, the Bassano red onion was widely cultivated and was the only one available on the Vicentine market. It was widely used because it confers a sweet and not excessively spicy taste, like other onions. According to tradition, the Bassano red onion has been cultivated in the area since 1500. In modern times, its production was progressively extended to the northern Vicenza area in the Fifties, becoming increasingly important in terms of quantity and quality in the Seventies. In ancient times it was used by Venetian farmers to forecast weather conditions for the year. This was the so-called “grain weevil” divination, made on January 25th, according to which it was the custom to detach twelve tunics from a clean “séola” (onion). The tunics were then covered with salt and on the following day, according to their level of humidity, an expert would forecast the weather: rainy or dry weather the following spring. In addition to the Bassano red onion, the white onion is also cultivated in Vicenza, in the southern piedmont area, as well as the golden onion in the red earth of the area around Guà.
Product Characteristics
Protected as a typical product, the red onions of Bassano have a weight
ranging from 120 to 200 grams and a diameter of about 7/8 cm. Sewing takes place after mid-August and continues until mid-October.
The harvest of the early variety begins at the end of May and continues until mid-June. The late variety is harvested starting at the end of June and lasts until the end of August. The harvest is done mostly by hand, removing the entire plant and cutting the stem off near the bulb. It is then dried in the sun for several hours, brushed and placed in crates, ready for sale. It is conserved at a temperature between 0° and 10° C in an area protected from light to avoid germination.
The white onion
The white onion is cultivated mostly in the piedmont area and in the southern area of the province, on argillaceous terrain, providing it is cool and deep, has good exposure to the sun and is rich in organic substances.
The period of sewing takes place from the end of October for the autumn varieties and between mid-February and mid-March for the spring varieties. Theonions are
generally sewn in the open field on adequately prepared terrain, with seeds that vary from 650,000 to 950,000 per hectare. During the springtime the onions are frequently provided with low intensity irrigation. The fresh product is normally obtained from autumn cultivations with harvest in the late spring (between April and June), while the product destined for conservation is obtained from the spring and summer cultivations.
The white onion is conserved in well ventilated storage facilities; in order to slow down the process of germination, they are conserved at a temperature not exceeding 25° C. Rounded in shape, with a sweet taste and a pungent odour that tends to disappear with cooking, onions have a low content of calories, from the nutritional point of view, and are used both fresh and cooked, or as ingredients in sauces, soups and omelettes.
The golden onion
With respect to the other two varieties, the golden onion is distinguished by the
presence of various outer tunics (at least five), which are very consistent and have a copper colour. The onion has a regular, slightly oval shape and a rather uniform colour, with light faded and copper streaks at equal distance from each other. Inside, the pulp is white and made up of at least seven tunics.
This vegetable is cultivated in the southern Vicenza area, on medium grain terrain, prepared for sewing in the autumn-winter period. Sewing usually takes place in February or in the initial days of March, while the harvest is completed by
mid-September. The onions are first dug, then left on the terrain in tiers to favour
drying of the bulbs. After a week they are gathered and placed in crates. After
cutting of the stalk, they are usually marketed packaged in nets weighing from one to five kilos.
The golden onion has a more intense taste than the white onion, and is therefore more suitable for sauté frying and prolonged cooking.
TECHNICAL CARD
- Period of production: end of May through mid-June for the early variety; end of June through mid-August for the late variety.
- Nutritional characteristics: in addition to being a very precious vegetable in the kitchen, onions possess innumerable therapeutic properties. For example, they prevent arteriosclerosis and heart disease and, thanks to their content of silicon and sulphur, they lower blood
pressure and inhibit the aggregation of platelets in the blood stream. The onion is indicated for diabetes because it tends to lower the levels of sugar in the blood, stimulating the production of insulin. Thanks to their content of potassium and other minerals, onions are also an effective diuretic vegetable that hinders the accumulation of liquids, chloride and urea. Onions have about 20 calories for every 100 grams of fresh product.
Recipes
Onion soup
4/5 servings
1 kg onions,
150 g. butter,
90 g. flour,
2 l. beef broth.
Brown sliced onions with butter for a few minutes. Add the flour by sprinkling it with a table spoon and continue cooking. Add the broth in the proper quantity, continue cooking over low heat for 30 minutes. Add a bit of salt. Then pour the soup into four ceramic oven bowls. Put diced old bread and diced gruyère cheese on top or if
prefered one bread slice in both in the oven to be gratin.
Spaghetti with onion
4 servings
3 big golden onions,
400 g. spaghetti,
1/2 cup of oil,
1 tablespoon of tomato sauce (optional)
one or two laurel leaves,
some cloves
salt, pepper
Clean and slice onions. Let them brown for about 20 minutes (adding water if
necessary) add tomato sauce if you want, split laurel leaves and some cloves. Season with salt and pepper.
Dress spaghetti with this sauce.
Rabbit liver with lemon verbena and onion cream
1 Serving
liver
5 lemon verbena leaves
(you can use even basil),
1 very thin slice of bacon
50 g. onions,
5 g. sugar,
5 g. balsamico vinegar,
salt, pepper and extravirgin
olive oil.
Brown diced onions with a bit of oil, sugar and balsamico vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Dress liver with lemon verbena and roll it up in bacon (which should be very thinly sliced). Cook (not too much because it gets tough). Serve the liver rolls on an onion base.
Chicken breast stewed with cotechino and cabbage in onion sauce
4 servings
4 chicken breasts,
1 cabbage,
2 onions,
500 g. cooked cotechino,
broth (even made with cube).
Open the chicken breasts so to be able to stuff them. Brown one onion and add shred cabbage complete shered. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add sliced cotechino and cook for some minutes, keep mixing.
Stuff dressing inside chicken breast close and stew them on a pan for some minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes.
Take the second onion, slice it and place it in a pan cook the onion adding broth. When it’s ready half of the amount should be placed in a food processor. Afterwards both quantities should be mixed together. Serve chicken breasts with onion sauce.
Small onion bowls with anchovies
4 Servings
4 small ceramic baking bowls,
borettane onions (those thin and plane),
2 hard-boiled eggs,
10 anchovies fillets,
250 g fresh cream,
ready puff pastry
butter.
Cover the 4 small ceramic baking bowls with puff pastry and cook in oven for 10 minutes. Aside, shallow fry borettane onions with butter, paying attention they don’t get too brown. Drain and mix with sliced hard-boiled eggs, anchovies fillets and add as much fresh as necessary cream (in order to get a creamy compound). Pour in the small baking bowls and place in oven (low temperature pre-heated) but for 20 minutes.
If you obtain a firm compound, spread it on bread slices. You can use it as a spicy appetizer.
Stuffed onions
Ingredients:
onions
garlic
parsley
oil
butter
Boil the onions in water. Drain and remove their central part. Place in this cavity previously boiled rice mixed with minced garlic, parsley, oil and butter. Serve in a tray, dress with oil and bake until it gets au gratin.
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