Cureggio and Fontaneto Blond Onion

Close to Novara, in the plain between the Agogna and Sizzone rivers, lie the towns of Cureggio and Fontaneto, once known for the cultivation of potatoes and onions. According to tradition, the local producers would go to the Cureggio train station every day to send crates of their onions to the markets in Milan and Turin.
The traditional onion from the Cureggio and Fontaneto plain is golden-blond in color. Up to 8 centimeters wide, it weighs between 150 and 400 grams and has a distinctive flattened shape. Its essential characteristic, however, is its extreme sweetness, which remains for many months after harvesting.
The onion has a very long growing cycle. The seeds are sown in a seedbed in February, the seedlings are planted out in May and the onions are harvested from August on. Once harvested and dried in the sun, they can keep until the following spring.
As well as being used as a base seasoning for many dishes, a number of local dishes feature the onion as the main ingredient. The recipes have been passed down through the generations, and include peasant soup (water, a pinch of salt, butter or lard and minced onion), onion frittata (with wedges of onion or the unripe bulb, called scigulòtt), frittata rognosa (with the addition of duja salame), rustìda (pork loin and offal cooked in onions, prepared when a pig is slaughtered), cassola and a classic onion soup.
These days, the areas where the onion is grown have been reduced by surrounding infrastructure construction and industrialization. Many local residents have abandoned agricultural activities and onion growing has come close to disappearing for good.

Season

It is harvested from the end of August and can be stored until the following spring.