Pignone Onion
Features: Like for Rossa Genovese, the most common criteria for the classification of onions is based on their cultivation area, in this case the Municipality of Pignone. A spring-summer variety, Pignone red onion (Allium coepa) has an oval shape and is squashed at the poles. The bulb, generally rather big (transversal diameter mm 80; height mm 60) can also reach a weight of 700-800g. It has very thick leaves, but delicate and tender at the same time. It has a sweet taste and can be easily preserved.
Production Area: Pignone - loc. Monti Casale di Pignone - loc. Festiere and Pastine (La Spezia)
Curiosities: According to the elderly from loc. Monti di Pignone, the presence of the onion in the area is documented since the 19th century. The onion production in Pignone and the adjacent areas is linked to the bean production. Rich in proteins, sugars, and mineral salts, onions have diuretic, depurative, and expectorant properties. They are essential to prepare lightly fried mixtures and to flavor various dishes, but they are also very good in salads.
Cultivation: Sown in August in seedbeds, it is transplanted in the field in October, and is ready in June.
Recipe: As we have said before, onion cultivation goes hand in hand with bean cultivation, and the combination of these two products - considered poor products - gives birth to a delicious dish, easy to prepare and nourishing: beans and onions salad. Ingredients: 200g beans, 1 onion, 2 hard-boiled eggs, tuna in oil, extra-virgin olive oil, salt. Preparation: boil the beans and flavor them with abundant extra-virgin olive oil and salt, add the cut onion, add the hard-boiled eggs and the tuna to obtain a richer dish.
