Description
Oven Baked Stuffed Onions with a savory filling of lamb, rice, Feta, prunes and spices.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 large yellow onions (about 3/4 pound each)
- 1 pound ground lamb
- ¾ cup cooked basmati rice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons finely chopped garlic
- 1½ teaspoons whole cumin seeds
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 10 pitted prunes, roughly chopped
- 4 ounces crumbled Feta cheese
- Olive oil for brushing onions
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil the bottom of a casserole dish or Dutch oven.
- Prepare the Onions: Trim the ends off the onions, then make a slice only halfway through each onion lengthwise (with your knife positioned end-to-end). For a clear demonstration of this technique see photo in post. Pull off the brown papery skin. Boil onions in a large pot of water, partially covered pot, for 20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer onions into a large bowl filled with cold water. Pour out heated water and refresh with more cold water, and repeat again. Let onions cool in the water for a few minutes. To keep from burning your hands, work under water to gently separate the softened outer layers of each onion, one by one, about 4 or 5 per onion, until you get to the stiffer middle section, which will not be used in this recipe. Put onions layers in a strainer to dry.
- Make the stuffing Put cooked rice in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small frying pan. Add chopped garlic (1½ teaspoons) and cumin seeds (1½ teaspoons) to pan and cook over medium heat, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Turn off heat if garlic starts to turn brown. Scrape cumin and garlic into bowl with rice. Add salt (1½ teaspoons) and pepper (¼ teaspoon). Stir rice to combine with spices. Add ground lamb and Feta cheese and gently combine with rice. (I recommend using your hands)
- Stuff the onions Pat the onion layers dry if need be. Add a generous heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture to the center of an onion layer. Roll the onion layer around the meat, and put it in the oiled casserole, seam side down. Continue with all of the meat. You should have 12-14 stuffed onions. Brush the tops of the rolls with some olive oil and sprinkle with some fresh ground pepper. Cover casserole with lid or with a double layer of foil. Bake in the lower third of a preheated oven for 1 hour. Briefly remove pot from oven. Turn oven up to "broil". Remove foil from casserole. Baste onions with pan juices. Return to oven, uncovered, and cook onion rolls for an additional 5 minutes to brown them, watching carefully to make sure they don't burn.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Afghan