www.italoamericano.org
28
L'Italo-Americano
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020
LA BUONA TAVOLA
RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES
Continued form page 26
serve the slices on the side, so
you can dip them as you like in
the onions. But that's obviously
a matter of taste.
Variations
If you ask me, onions are so
tasty there's little need to gussy
them up. But of course you can,
if you like. A drizzle of red
wine, added to the onions before
the water and allowed to cook
off, lends an extra layer of savor,
while a drizzle of red wine vine-
gar offsets the onions' sweet-
ness. An anchovy or two adds
umami—without any noticeable
fishiness. A few strips of toma-
to, added towards the end of the
braise, lends a lovely color,
while some strips of bell pepper
provide a classic pairing but
change the character of the dish
considerably.
In the region of Abruzzo,
they also make a similar braised
onion dish called, unsurprisingly,
cipollata all'Abruzzese. But
unlike its Calabrian cousin, it's
not spicy, and is made with yel-
low rather than red onions, pai-
red with lots of fresh tomato and
sometimes flavored with a few
basil leaves. It makes for a very
appealing summer side dish.
In Abruzzo, cipollata is made with yellow onions and tomatoes (Copyright: Dreamstime)
