13 January, 2019

Rice and cheese stuffed onions

8 yellow onions, about 2 in. dia. (2 lb. total), peeled
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
salt to taste
1/3 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 2/3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
2 Tbsp. grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
white pepper to taste

Cut only a thin slice from the bottom of each onion. Remove, chop, and set aside the onion centers, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Be careful not to cut through the bottoms of the onion shells; plug any torn area of bottoms with a piece from the centers. Blanch onion shells in salted water ca. 7 min. until crisp-tender. Gently drain and rinse with cold water; set open ends down and let drain well. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the chopped onion centers with salt and saute in 2 Tbsp. butter until soft and beginning to color, about 20 min. Stir in rice; after about 2 min., add 1 cup broth. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and simmer until rice is tender, about 30 min. Remove from heat and stir in Swiss/Gruyere and 2 Tbsp. Parmesan. Adjust seasonings and fill onion shells, mounding slightly. Place in a shallow baking pan and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Place 2 Tbsp. butter and 2/3 cup broth around the onions and tent with foil. Bake 25 min. at 375F, then raise heat to 400F and remove the foil. Bake about 20 min. longer, basting frequently with pan juices, until tender and golden.

Adapted from: From the farmers' market : wonderful things to do with fresh-from-the-farm food with recipes and recollections from farm kitchens / Richard Sax with Sandra Gluck. Harper & Row, c1986.

This is another of those posts I prepared for the Tumwater Farmers' Market blog before it switched editors. There are several of these, which will appear this winter when I'm feeling particularly cold and uninspired.

Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.