Stuffed Onions

I’ve been seeing Yotam Ottolenghi's name everywhere lately, from a recent feature in Bon Appetit to the bookshelves at Anthropologie. His recent cookbook, Plenty, has been heralded for its innovative vegetable recipes and I couldn’t wait to borrow it from my mother. I’m no stranger to cooking vegetarian meals, but I was amazed at how inspiring and beautiful his dishes are. This is his recipe for stuffed onions (with some minor adjustments), which reminds me of one of my favorite dishes, spinach and ricotta stuffed pasta shells. It does take some time and effort to execute this dish, but the results are so worth it. It’s one of those meals that looks as good as it tastes, and it’s a surprisingly hearty main course when served with a light green salad.

Stuffed Onions:

• Slice the tops and bottoms off of 3 large white onions, slice them in half lengthwise, and peel the skin off.
• Carefully remove the large outer layers of the onions, so you have individual onion cups. Save the smaller inner layers for another use.
• Meanwhile, combine 2 ½ c. vegetable broth and 1 ½ c. white wine in a saucepot and bring to a boil.
• Add in 3-4 onions at a time and simmer in the broth for 4-5 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the softened onions and drain well on paper towels. Repeat until all onions have been softened in the broth.
• In a large bowl, combine 4 small grated tomatoes*, 2 c. panko breadcrumbs, 3 oz. crumbled feta cheese, ¾ c. minced parsley, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 3 minced garlic cloves, salt, and pepper.
• Spoon some of the tomato-breadcrumb filling into each onion shell, then fold the onion around to form a fat cigar shape.
• Place each stuffed onion, seam-side down, into a buttered baking dish. Repeat until all onions are stuffed.
• Pour a small amount of the broth into the bottom of the dish and drizzle the tops of the onions with olive oil.
• Bake the onions in a 350°F oven for 45-50 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

Serves four

*Use a large box grater to do this, discarding any leftover tomato skin that you have in your hand.