I don’t know about you. But when I think ‘stuffed veggies’, I default to Bell Peppers, Tomatoes and Cabbage Rolls. However… I’ve recently been turned on to something that was totally new to me: Salantourmasi! It’s literally Greek for ‘Stuffed Onions!…
Wow! Where have I been all this time? Daily Wrap contributor Ewa Maliowska admits this one isn’t all that well-known in the US or Canada. But the form, and formula are classic ‘Greek’…
Two ways to go…
Recipe developer Malinowska notes, there are two ways you can go with this sweet-savoury main: with or without rice. With rice in the ground meat stuffing, it’s classic Greek. Without, it’s more ex-pensive – but classic Malinowska, and a more substantial main.
Whichever way you go, the recipe is pretty much the same…
It calls for 6 medium onions, from which you slice off enough the head ends so you can scoop out about 4/5 of the interior, leaving two good, thick outer layers. Remember, the more head-end you cut, the less ‘length’ of onion you’ll have available to stuff!
Tips:
- I prefer mild, or sweet onions with this recipe. They tend to deliver a desirable the sweet-savoury flavour balance.
- Use medium-sized onions rather than large or small ones for this dish. With medium-sized onions, the shell and the stuffing tend to be ‘done’ in the same amount of cooking time. And the medium sized onion is a nice-sized portion to serve.
- Don’t just buy a bag of onions. It may be cheaper than hand-picking your onions. But you want to make sure all your onions are as close as possible to the same size.
- DO use all the parsley specified in the ingredients list. And use real Greek parsley by preference.
- If you are adding extra meat, and using less or no rice, be sure to reduce the salt accordingly.
- If you’re using less or no rice, DO add a handful or two of milk-soaked bread crumbs to compen-sate, as though you were making meatballs or meatloaf.
- The chili flakes are optional, or to your personal taste.
- You’ll definitely want SOME garlic in this recipe. But you can always add extra or leave out a clove, to your taste.
- DO not skip the honey in the sauce. That’s a trademark Greek touch. And the flavour just isn’t the same without it!
My take
Aside from all the obvious attractions of this great Mediterranean dish, it provides a great oppor-tunity to sharpen up your knife skills. Lots of ingredients to chop!
And every ingredient contributes something essential to the flavour and texture of the stuffing and/or sauce…
I’ve come to consider this one my first-choice stuffed-veggie option. The Stuffed Onion is still new enough to the North American scene to have a novelty factor that adds to its allure. And that makes it an ‘elevated’ component on any special plate!
~ Maggie J.