Garlico are excited to bring you Cipollini, an onion taste-sensation

The team at Garlico are excited to bring you Cipollini, an onion taste-sensation

Available NOW instore at 854 Old Renwick Road or by ordering online while stocks last. $7.00 per kg (mixed sizing)

Grown in Marlborough by Robert and Alan, Cipollini onions (pronounced chip-oh-LEE-nee) are an Italian heirloom variety first cultivated in the 1400’s, and originate from Boretto in Italy. Their name means ‘little onion’.

Our Marlborough conditions have promoted growth larger than the normal petite 5-10cm diameter but we can guarantee this hasn’t changed the flavour or texture one bit! In their raw state they are crisp and semi-sweet with a mild smell and a pungent flavour ideal for salads, however, being much sweeter than regular onions and shallots due to their high sugar content they are ideal for caramelisation.

Cooking the onions slowly allows their natural sugars to break down creating a sweet, soft and almost melting texture. No bitter aftertaste! Perfect in a mixed kebab skewer off the BBQ or used whole in stews, roasts or casseroles, try them pickled in condiments, add them chopped to pasta dishes ... it’s an endless list. They are great with balsamic vinegar, mushrooms, herbs, tomato, cured meats and cheeses of all kinds.

“I’ve given them a try at home, swapping onions for Cipollini and they are great,” says Robert, “they look cute, they taste sweet!”

How do you recognise a Cipollini? They are traditionally small in size, round but flattened, with thin, yellowy-gold papery skins and a pale almost translucent flesh.