Sweet onions are versatile and delicious

Thousands of poets have sung the praises of the rose, but as far as I know, only Robert Louis Stevenson has eulogized the onion in verse. In "To a Gardener," he writes:\nFirst let the onion flourish there,\nRoe among roots, the maiden fair\nWine-scented and poetic soul\nOf the capacious salad bowl.\nMoved by the same sentiments, this week's column pays homage to onions -- sweet onions in particular. The thin translucent wrappings of Vidalia, Maui, purple and other sweet onions shed to reveal fragrant, full-bodied flavor and sweetness for a coins more than ordinary onions. Their cost is worth every penny and their lack of bitter bite will make the most die-hard onion-hater come around.\nMost people are delighted and surprised by the mellow goodness of sweet onions. With sultry summer days upon us, though, heed Stevenson's words and let sweet onions sing in salads of every variety, from tossed, to potato, to pasta. \nIncorporating sweet onions into new and favorite recipes requires little imagination. Buy one, chop it up and start sprinkling. Beyond salads, try adding a few chopped tablespoons to bolster purchased salsa, stir them into broth-based vegetable and chicken soups, or make a quick summer pasta of linguine, sweet onions sauteed in a bit of butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.\nSweet onions are found adjacent to ordinary onions in the supermarket. Buy onions that feel hard, free of soft spots and with no trace of sprouting. \nStore them in a cool, dark and airy place. Once peeled, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Sweet onions, like other onions, will keep for weeks without refrigeration, making them handy for added bursts of flavor to a summer's worth of spur-of-the moment cooking.\nMy sweet onion salsa, to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, represents the triumph of hope over experience. One night, I began making a salsa fresca to go with ordinary grilled chicken. I had no tomatoes so I substituted red bell peppers. The bell pepper looked lonely so I chopped more onions. When my fresh lime yielded two droplets, I used balsamic vinegar. And on it went. Even though the finished product looked nothing like tomato salsa, my dining partners paid the ultimate compliment: they ate it all before I could save enough for the next day's lunch.\nGrilling sweet onions is another way to savor their goodness this summer. The smokiness imparted by a stint over open flames is an excellent foil to the onions' natural sugars. If you have the time, grilled onion flowers are worth the 40-minute cooking wait. If time is short, or your energy spent, unadulterated onion slices, slapped onto the grill to accompany burgers or just about anything else, are equally satisfying.