Friday, July 30, 2010

ACQUA E ZAPPUDDA


"Acqua e zapudda fannu cipudda" - "Water and hoeing produce onions".

- Sicilian proverb

It must have taken a lot of both to produce this enormous specimen from the "onion town" of Giarratana.  I put a "normal"-sized onion beside it and photographed it in a basket with other oniony things to give you a better idea of its size:







I wonder how much I'll cry when I peel it?


11 comments:

Laura said...

That looks like a "Walla Walla Sweet Onion," grown in/near Walla Walla, Washington, USA. They are so sweet some people eat them like apples. I wonder if yours is a similar variety?

Rosaria Williams said...

Time to make French onion soup or something similar. That is some onion!

I plant onions, but I pull them out and eat them while they are still young since young onions are more expensive and harder to keep at hand.
My favorite way to cook onions is with zucchini and potatoes. Simply scrumptious.

RNSANE said...

You'll have to do something wonderful with it. Were there others of that size where you bought it. It would make on gigantic plate of onions rings!

TEFL Ninja said...

It is the Arnie of the onion world!!

Laura said...

This looks like a Walla Walla Sweet onion - they are so good some people eat them like apples! I'm anxious to learn if this huge onion in the photo is a sweet variety. (Walla Walla Sweets are from Walla Walla, Washington USA) Perhaps the Sicilian counterpart?!

Rowena said...

Thank you for this bit of info! I just had to search to see if they also have a sagra for this, and yes they do! [http://www.ibla.net/giarratana/] Wish I could make it out there, but hopefully I'll be able to attend it in the future. That onion is ENORMOUS!

James Higham said...

The question is, "How did it taste?"

CherryPie said...

I am looking forward knowing how tasty it was in comparison to the norm!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hello, Laura. Thanks for the info about Walla Walla onions - I'd never heard of them before. No, these are not as sweet as that nbut they do have a delicious flavour. Hi, lakeviewer. Or baked onion, which is a speciality here. Your way of cooking onions sounds wonderful. Hi, Carmen. Oh yes, there are lorries teeming with them! Ah, onion rings.... Hi, Sarah. I've got the giggles now! Hi again, Laura. Quite sweet but not as sweet as the onions you mention.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Rowena. Yes, one day I am going to go to the Giarratana onion fest! Maybe I'll see you there... I've used these onions before, though not ones quite as big as this and they were a joy to cook with. I'll tell you soon, James. Will report back, Cherie.

sally in norfolk said...

wow it would kill me to chop that onion... my eyes stream with the small one :-(

Think i would bake it as i love baked onions :-)

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