Cipolla

In order to produce these shoots, small onion sets of the large, sweet, white variety are planted in January and allowed to grow till June/July when they have reached a certain size. They are pulled and dried off in bunches in the shade of a fig tree, then stored in a dry place. In September they begin to sprout and are planted out in a trench like celery. During the autumn they produce as many as seven or eight green sprouts, which are earthed up as they develop. By January each sprout attains the size of a gigantic leek.