How often have you used an onion
as a vegetable and not as a flavoring ingredient?  Maybe around the fall and winter holidays in creamed onions?  Maybe
in a Beouf Bourgingnone?  Maybe onion rings?(who  doesn't love a crispy coated deep-fried onion ring???)  In the part
of Italy where my maternal grandfather comes from, a local specialty are the small, flat purple onions, boiled and
preserved in olive oil known as Lampascioni.  These are really a bulb of a hyacinth plant that grows wild in the
hinterlands of Basilicata and Puglia in Southern Italy.
Here is a view from my
cousin's roof top in Grassano, near Matera in Basilicata where these bitter treats grow wild.  My cousins prepared
a wonderful lunch for us in Matera and were surprised that I was familiar the bowl of purple lampascioni.  I
remember them from my grandparent's house.  They are a great antipasto addition, or as part of a complex salad.
An acquired taste for sure.  Here is a view of the old, ancient, pre-historic city of Matera, a land of scorched earth
where the onion is prized.
 Doesn't this look like a movie
set from those Biblical epics which usually are re-run during this time of the year?  King of Kings, the Robe, Ben-Hur,
and actually, Matera pictured above was where Mel Gibson filmed his The Passion of the Christ a few years ago.  Many
of those doors open into rooms and houses carved out of the rock, cave houses...inhabited by man even in the days
before Christ.  After the great lunch and visits with the relatives that day, gazing on this site and walking through it
was simply amazing. 
Here is a view of Grassano taken from my cousins' home while sipping the
most bitter (amaro) of Espresso.  The more bitter the better for me.  Perfect way to end the day.  So, being that
it  is Holy Week I'm drawn to some of my more hardcore memories of my life, especially where parents and
grandparents are concerned.  I spotted a beautiful display of cipollini in the store.  Organic, flat Italian onions
that are somewhat sweet, not Vidalia sweet, and they are an awesome vegetable when used whole.  They always
remind me of the lampascioni just because of their size.  I decided to pan roast them as the lead picture on this post
shows you.  Then simply toss them in with a saute' of Swiss chard, garlic, and oil, peppered with chili and fennel.
Then the pasta of your choice...cappellini in this case, it's the family favorite (not mine mind you, I prefer macaroni like
rigatoni, cavatelli, orrechiette, ziti and the like). Wash
and pat dry 1 1/2 lbs of fresh swiss chard, discarding the thick stems.  Coarsely chop them and into a pan you have
added 3 tbs. of olive oil, 1 tsp. of chili flakes, and 1 tsp. of fennel seeds 1 slice clove of garlic, saute' them on medium.  Salt them. After
about 5 minutes, add 1/8 cup of White wine and cover, place on low.  In another pan, heat 3 tbs of olive oil and on low
heat, add 10 peeled cipollini.  Add salt and black pepper and let them cook on one side for 5 minutes, then turn and
cook for additional 8 minutes.   Mix the two pans together, and add 1/2 lb. of pasta, cooked al dente.  Toss with 1/8
grated pecorino. 
  If you can find the red swiss chard the
dish is a little dramatic in its' presentation!
Serve a spoonful of a good fresh ricotta on the side with some pecorino and black pepper dusted over it.  A
filling meal, healthy, and inspired by the southern Italian landscape. 
Sono Buoni!!!