• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil the bottom of a casserole dish or Dutch oven. Arrange an oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

Prepare the onions

1. Trim the ends off the onions, then make a single slice lengthwise through each onion, cutting only halfway through (with your knife positioned end-to-end). See the photo in the post for a demonstration of this technique.
2. Remove the papery onion skins. Place the onions in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot partially and boil for 20 minutes, until the onions are softened.
3. 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.
4. To keep from burning your hands, work under running water as you 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 mesh strainer to dry.

Make the stuffing:

1. Put cooked rice in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. (Turn off the heat if the garlic begins to brown.) Scrape the garlic and cumin into the bowl with the rice.
3. Add the salt, pepper, ground lamb and feta cheese and gently mix everything together (using your hands works best).

Stuff and Bake

1. 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.
2. Continue until all the filling is used. You should have 12–14 stuffed onions.
3. 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.
4. Bake in the lower third of a the oven for 1 hour.
5. 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 3-5 minutes to brown them, watching carefully to make sure they don't burn.
6. Serve warm.