Whaddya reckon??
STUFFED ONIONS WITH PARMESAN BREADCRUMBS
This is a phenomenal dish that my grandmother used to make – definitely one my all-time favourites. It’s delicious on its own or with a crisp green salad. I can’t promise that mine is as good as hers, but it’s pretty tasty all the same.
Drain the soaked porcini, reserving the liquid.
To make the sauce, heat the oil and 1 knob of butter in a pan. Add the shallots, carrot and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the drained mushrooms and the remaining knob of butter and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomato purée and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute. Add a splash of red wine and bubble until completely reduced. Finally, add the strained mushroom liquid, reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour until it has formed a thick, sauce-like consistency.
Preheat the oven to 200?C/Gas Mark 6.
Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the onions and boil for 3 minutes. Remove and drain. Cut each onion in half and scoop out the centre with a spoon, leaving 2-3 layers in tact round the outside, and setting the onion flesh aside. This will leave you with 8 onion shells.
Finely chop the scooped-out onion and place in a bowl. Mix in the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and enough of the reduced mushroom sauce to bind the mixture together (about a tablespoon). Stir in the parsley and season to taste.
Put the onion shells in an ovenproof dish and drizzle with olive oil. Fill each shell with the stuffing and top with the mushroom sauce. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. If the onions look dry at any point, sprinkle a little chicken stock or water over them. Remove and serve at once.
Serves 4
4 medium onions, peeled and left whole
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
100g Parmesan, freshly grated
4 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
Olive oil, for drizzling
Chicken stock or water, if needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce
10g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in about 250ml hot water for 5 minutes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 knobs of butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 carrot, cut into 3mm dice
1 celery stick, cut into 3mm dice
1 tsp tomato purée
Splash of red wine
