Middle Eastern Beef Stuffed Onions
This recipe was inspired by a technique used for rice stuffed onions in the cookbook “Jerusalem” by Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi. It is my interpretation and application of that technique, using ground beef, barberries and pistachios.
“Beef Stuffed Onions” is a bit labor intensive, and requires what may be unfamiliar ingredients. But all are readily available either online, at specialty grocers or, in the case of the preserved lemons, are easily made at home.
Note: If a soupier dish is preferred, increase the amount of tomato sauce to one cup. Alternatively, for a more savory dish, substitute beef bouillon for the tomato sauce.
The aromas are spectacular, and as is often true of such methods, taste even better the second or third day.
Middle Eastern Flavors. Comfort Food. Autumn Main Dish. What are we waiting for?
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
2 large onions
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tbsp Ras El Hanout
1 tbsp dried barberries
1 tbsp ground pistachios
1 tbsp roasted pistachios
1/4 preserved lemon
1 egg
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut in one inch cubes
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup tomato sauce
Procedure
1. cut the stems from onions. peel and boil in salted water for 15 minutes. set aside.
2. remove and discard the inner flesh of the preserved lemon. Finely dice the skin and peel
3. slit one side of the onion halfway through. Carefully separate the onions into layers. About four layers per onion. Chop and reserve the inner sections of the onions to use in making the filling.
4. combine and thoroughly mix the beef, chopped onion, egg, mint, ras el hanout, ground pistachios, preserved lemon, salt and pepper to taste and the barberries.
5. holding one onion layer at a time in the palm of your hand, fill it with the beef mixture and place slit side down in oiled casserole.
6. scatter potato cubes around the stuffed onions.
7. add the pomegranate molasses to the tomato sauce and pour over onions.
8. bake one hour at 325. to serve, garnish with roasted pistachios and pomegranate seeds.
Servings: 4
Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Oven Temperature: 325°F
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (10.6 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. 6 of the recipe’s ingredients were not linked. These ingredients are not included in the recipe nutrition data.
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