The onions they are not all the same. From north to south of the country there are dozens of cultivated varieties, mainly divided into three types based on color of the bulb, which can be yellow, red and white. However, all onions are rich in vitamins and minerals and were used in ancient times for purify blood, but also to relieve the symptoms of flu and colds. The best known varieties are undoubtedly the Tropea red onion, the golden of Parma and the white of Barletta. But around the peninsula there are many, all with some characteristics different from each other and with various precautions to keep in mind when cooking them. Here are all the tricks to be taken to prepare the onions in the oven, depending on the variety.

Baked red onion

The general rule is usually that red onion is eaten uncooked, the white one is for flavor one dish, while the yellow one is ideal for long cooking. But every rule, you know, has its exceptions. The red onion of Tropea, grown mainly in the provinces of Cosenza and Vibo Valentia, oval in shape and tending towards purple, is usually eaten raw but can also be baked together with chopped parsley and rosemary, maintaining its unmistakable flavor. Simply peel the onions, boil them in salted water for just under ten minutes, cut them in two or three parts and put them in the oven at 180 degrees for an abundant hour, after covering them with a drizzle of oil. The same procedure can obviously be used for the red onion bell of Alife and for the red onions of Acquaviva delle Fonti (in Puglia), Suasa (Marche), Cannara (Umbria) and Cavasso Nuovo (Friuli).

Baked white onion

In addition to that from Barletta, among the most common white wines in Italy there is certainly also the onion grown in Giarratana, in Sicily. As said, white onions are mainly used in the kitchen to flavor numerous recipes, but they make a great impression at the table even if prepared in the oven. After cleaning them and keeping them in water for an hour, until the excessive flavor and smell is discharged, that's enough cut them crosswise on the bottom and place them in a pan with a high edge. Then you need to salt the onions, pepper them and cover them with oil and especially breadcrumbs. Baked white onions, in fact, are the most suitable to be gratin. At the end of these simple steps, you just have to bake them in 200 degrees until I am golden. The very fast preparation just described is also valid for the white onion of Chioggia, the typical Borettana of the Po Valley (ideal, however, especially for the conservation in bitter-sweet) and for the Sardinian of Banari, golden on the outside but very white once peeled.

Baked onions: the yellow one

Among the most common of this coloring are certainly the onion of Montoro, the one of Parma and the yellow onion of Sermide, in the Ferrara area. They are those used mainly for soups, while to prepare them in the oven, using them as side dish, there are very few steps and tips to keep in mind. Just peel them, boil them for about ten minutes in salted water, cut them coarsely and bake them in 180 degrees for three quarters of an hour, remembering previously to sprinkle them with oil and flavor them with salt and pepper. To make them even more fragrant, yellow onions can also be cooked in the oven with rosemary or parsley. Seeing is believing.