Slow Food® Castrofilippo Paglina Onion

Slow Food Presidium — Sicilian ecotype with large, straw-yellow ovoid bulbs, sweet and aromatic even when raw

Transplanted by hand at the new moon, hand-picked and dried in the Sicilian sun: an onion that is grown as it was in the 19th century.

Castrofilippo Paglina Onion: Authenticity and Artisanal Flavor

The Paglina di Castrofilippo is an onion ecotype that's instantly recognizable: large, ovoid bulbs—about 10 centimeters in diameter—encased in straw-yellow outer skins, hence its name. Beneath that golden coating lies a white, fleshy pulp with a surprising sweetness: eating it raw truly enhances its sweet, aromatic flavor, a test only great onions can pass. It grows in Castrofilippo, in the province of Agrigento, at about 450 meters above sea level, on hilly, medium-textured soils, and is protected as a Slow Food® Presidium: the recognition reserved for products that preserve, along with their flavor, a wealth of farming knowledge.
 
 
 

The roots of this onion are deep in tradition

Land registry documents attest to onion cultivation in this area since the mid-19th century, and the cultivation method has remained faithful to that era. The seed is produced annually by the farm itself; between December and February, at the new moon, the seedlings—called "cipuddrine" in the local dialect, grown in seedbeds near the sea—are transplanted manually into the fields, on land prepared by plowing and tilling and fertilized, if necessary, with manure. Crop rotation with other crops preserves the soil, and in favorable years, cultivation can even be conducted in dry conditions. Weeds are removed by hand, with hoes—called "zappuddre"—and only when necessary, copper and sulfur are used. Between June and July, harvesting is done manually, and the onions are left in the fields for a few days to dry in the sun before being cleaned, also by hand. Each bulb is a small treatise on nineteenth-century agriculture, which has reached us intact.
 
 
 

Choosing the Paglina Onion means taking care of yourself

The onion is one of the functional pillars of the Mediterranean diet: rich in sulfur compounds and quercetin, the antioxidant flavonoid of which it is one of the best-known dietary sources, along with prebiotic fibers like inulin, which nourish beneficial intestinal flora. Eating it raw—the natural vocation of the Paglina onion, made possible by its sweetness—maximally preserves these heat-sensitive compounds. And there's the value of the Presidium: choosing this onion means concretely supporting the growers who keep alive a local variety and the traditional agricultural practices that accompany it, from crop rotation to manual weeding. A tasteful gesture that is also a gesture of protection.
 
 
 

How to Best Use: Castrofilippo Paglina Onion

• RAW, AS ITS NATURE REQUIRES: slice it very thinly in a salad with Fresh organic green beans boiled al dente, oil and a few drops of Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI Organic: the aromatic sweetness of raw Paglina is the reason why this ecotype has become a Presidium.
• WHOLE IN THE BAKE, LACQUERED WITH HONEY: cook it whole with its golden skin, then open it like a flower and season it with a drizzle of Pressed Wildflower Honey from the Treja Valley and salt: the large size makes it perfect as a side dish-spectacle, melting with a spoon.
• IN THE SICILIAN ONION GENOVESE: stew it for a long time, on a very low heat, until it becomes an amber cream for seasoning Organic Half Ziti Senatore Cappelli; accompanied with a fresh glass of Spinola Gavi DOCG Biodynamic: the sweetness of the Paglina does all the work of the sauce.

Food container

Thanks to the drying process in the field, Paglina bulbs have a long shelf life: store them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place, away from light and potatoes. Once cut, store the remaining bulbs in the refrigerator, covered, and consume within a few days. Being a traditional agricultural product, size and shape may vary from bulb to bulb.
 
 
 

Follow us on Instagram for lots of news: @alpassofood

We answer all your questions about WhatsApp