Signature dish · 2010
Assoluto di cipolle
Niko Romito · 1974 · Reale, Castel di Sangro, Abruzzo
Onion, parmesan and saffron, and nothing else declared. Romito subtracts until only the vegetable is left to carry the plate.
Why it works
Long slow cooking converts the onion's sulphur compounds to sugars, so the sweetness is the vegetable's own; the parmesan supplies salt and glutamate that the onion cannot.