The original of this recipe comes from Anonimo Toscano, Libro della Cocina, a cookery book of the late 14th or early 15th century from Tuscany.

• Onions - Three pounds, (about 9 of the smaller size sold in a bag as boiling onions or 2-3 large)
•  2/3 cup red wine vinegar
•   1/ cup olive oil
•  1 tsp salt (or to taste)
•  1 tsp ground pepper
•   2 tsp sugar
•  1/2 tsp ground fennel seed

Roast onions in coals. (or oven 400 degrees F) until onions readily give to the point of a knife.  (They should be just tender, but not overcooked.) Time needed will vary with the size of the onions. Let onions cool. Pare off roots and any burnt bits. Leave any dark (caramelized) bits that are not crunchy. They will give the salad color and a lot of flavor.  Slice onions thinly lengthwise, that is, with the grain rather than into rings.

Mix all other ingredients together and pour over onions.

Salad can be served right away, but the flavor will mature if given time to marinate several hours or overnight. This is a good, if not very colorful, dish for potlucks and picnics as it will hold well without refrigeration. It can be served as a side dish or as a condiment on grilled meats and is best served at room temperature.  Makes approximately 12 servings.

As I developed this recipe with serving it at a feast in mind, I choose inexpensive boiling onions. Using sweet onions, red or even the small chippolini onions now available will, in my estimation, only improve the dish. Combinations of other oils, vinegars and spices are all possible. Here I chose pepper, sugar and fennel (pretty much just because I was in the mood for fennel that day) as the spices. A more likely period combination could include ginger, cinnamon, cloves or other spices. Recipes for assorted spice mixtures can be found in several cookbooks of the period. These were often sold in premixed blends in the markets or a cook might have his own secret blend.

Onions in sauce

[180] Take onions, cook them under the coals and then peel them, and slice them crosswise very long and very thin: add a fair amount of vinegar, salt, oil and spices, and serve.

This English Translation is the work of Vittoria Aureli and was previously available on line but is currently unavailable.

Above a bowl of Onions in sauce waiting to be served. Last Chance Feast (2006)

Other cold salads

• Lentil Cucumber Salad
• Marinated Mushrooms ala May
• Minted Cucumber Salad

Other vegetable recipes:

• Armored Turnips
• Carrots Apician
• Chard Pie
• Genovese Tart
• Mushroom Patina
• Parsnips Apician
• Pickled Root Vegetables

Other Italian recipes

• Dulcamine  
• Imperial Fritters
• Ofella
• Ravioli 
• Sweet and Sour Sauce for Pork
• White Fritters  
• White Torte