Prep: 25 mins
Difficulty: More Effort
Cook: 1 hr 15 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the onions
4 very large onions
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
For the stuffing
50g Greek yogurt
50g fresh breadcrumbs
400g lamb mince (20% fat)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ small pack mint, chopped
½ small pack flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
- Trim the very ends of the onions. Make an incision in each, from top to root, then another 0.5cm along, so you can cut out and discard a thin wedge (like you’re discarding a segment of orange).
- Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the onions. Boil for 10 mins, remove from the water and let cool.
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
- When the onions are cool enough to handle, carefully peel and set aside their outer layers – you want about 12-16 large layers in total, which will become the outer casing for the lamb filling.
- You can use the smaller, leftover layers in the middle for another recipe.
- Mix all the stuffing ingredients in a bowl and season well. Shape into 12-16 oval meatballs. Put each one on an onion layer and roll it up to create what looks like a small, peeled onion.
- Pour half the olive oil into a large, shallow casserole dish or roasting tin, then arrange all the stuffed onions on top in a tight, single layer.
- Drizzle over the remaining oil and bake for 45 mins.
- Brush with the molasses and bake for another 15-20 mins until the casings are really soft and dark golden brown.
- Serve with the root vegetable rice and the herby yogurt dressing on the side.
Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2016
Image from: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/stuffed-onions