A product of "poor" cuisine that always knows how to give character to our dishes: a variety of onions from Vicenza comes among the most delicious in Italy thanks to its unmistakable flavor. We are talking about that pink one, “Cipolla Rosa”, di Bassano del Grappa, champion for the sweetness that is perceived in the mouth. The flavor is so delicate that one of the ways to appreciate its characteristics is to taste it raw, freshly picked.

Grown in the Brenta Valley as early as the 14th century, in the middle of the Ezzolina era, the Bassano onion has lost its color over the centuries, once much pinker than it is now. There are two varieties: an early one born in late May, and a late one, available from the last weeks of June until the month of September. Due to its shape, it is also called "flat onion". Today this typical product has left the circuit of large productions but can be discovered in local companies and restaurants.

This centuries-old tradition has been safeguarded by some local farmers since the market no longer considered its cultivation "profitable". Today the product is protected among the traditional Italian agri-food products registered by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali.

If you don't want to taste it raw, there are a few choices: the first crops are put in oil or saor, in the typical sweet and sour recipe with raisins, vinegar, pine nuts and sardines. Onion represents the main ingredient of Vicenza-style cod, which requires a certain amount to have the desired flavor. The people of Vicenza also use to enhance the flavor of this onion by frying it, breading it or boiling it. Even people who are not accustomed to the common taste of this vegetable, when they taste one of these variants immediately change their mind!

What are you waiting for? Come and discover the beauty of the province of Vicenza and savor the taste of tradition.

 

A land to discover:

 

Food and Wine: Vicenza-style cod, Breganze DOC and a slice of Gata to end sweetly.

History: Over 700 years of cultivation, since the time of the Ezzelini.

Territory: The Ponte degli Alpini, the views of the Brenta, the historic center of Bassano.

 

Credits: www.dissapore.com