Fried Onion Strings with Rosemary Salt

Fried onions don’t need to be heavy and greasy. We learned to make these feather-light fried onions from Giuseppe Croce, chef of Tenuta Nonno Luigi in southwestern Italy’s Campania region. He slices onions paper-thin, then tosses the slices with semolina before quickly deep-frying them. The result is golden brown and crackling-crisp, but incredibly light. We season our version with fresh rosemary, which we grind with salt and sprinkle onto the onion strings after frying. A drizzle of syrupy balsamic also is great, providing a perfect sweet-tart counterpoint. Look for balsamic syrup—also called balsamic glaze or balsamic reduction—in the grocery store’s vinegar aisle.