Near San Gimignano, there's a tiny agriturismo in a tiny medieval hamlet where we often take our groups for dinner. We're always assured of a memorable feast. The setting is rustic: upstairs in the family house, a long banquet table is set for dining and a sideboard groans with endless trays of Tuscan dishes, all handmade by the owner's mother-in-law.

Among my favorite antipasti are the sweet-and-sour onions. Being only slightly cooked, the small-sized onions retain a nice crispness. But they've been steeped for weeks in a tasty agrodolce (sweet-sour) sauce. Seeking to replicate this, I finally found the following recipe on epicurious.com which captures the tangy magic. Serve along with other antipasti, or as a side dish to roasted meat.

SWEET & SOUR ONIONS
(serves 6)
1-1/2 cups dry white wine
1-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, peeled, crushed
10 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1-1/2 cups fresh whole basil leaves
1-1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 pounds small cipolline onions or small boiling onions, blanched, peeled

Place all ingredients except onions in heavy large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Add onions; reduce heat to medium and simmer until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer onions to jar with lid. Increase heat to high and boil until liquid is reduced to 1 3/4 cups, about 20 minutes. Pour liquid over onions and cool.

Cover onion mixture and refrigerate until flavors blend, at least 1 week and up to 1 month.

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