How Stuffed Onions Really Can Help

The past several weeks have been largely taken up with wedding preparations. Since my spouse and I are cooking for the weekend, it has been a strange combination of producing a lot of food, but not eating much of it. So when I got a text mid-afternoon asking if I could come to dinner that night, I said yes. True, there is still a lot yet to complete. But the lure of having a real break from it, in terms of both welcome company as well as a home cooked meal that I did not prepare was too much to resist. I really needed the decompression experience. I have done most of what can realistically be done ahead of time, and felt like it was time to sit down and relax a bit and savor the upcoming festivites, allow it to become more of a celebration and less of a chore, and reflect with firends. I am always surprised by just how much food can ease this very important transition and reflection process. The meal consisted of some wonderful Farmer's Market purchases (tomatoes and strawberries being the highlight) there was hummus and kibbeh, and best of all, stuffed onions. This is one of my favorite comfort foods, and I associate it with comfort because my friend Kineret has made it for me at times in my life when I need that. Lucky for me, it always works. A recipe for stuffed onions appears in the Syrian Jewish cookbook, 'Aromas of Aleppo' by Poopa Dweck: for the filling 1 lb ground beef 1/3 cup rice 1 teas ground allspice 1 teas ground cinnamon 1 teas salt 1/4 teas pepper 2 Tbs vegetable oil 1/4 cup water Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. (I knead the mixture with my hands, as my mother does, but a spoon will also work.) 3 very large onions filling 3 Tbs tamarind paste 2 Tbs lemon juice 1 cup boiling water 1 teas salt Peel onions and make a vertical cut to the center and not more. Place them in boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes, until they soften and begin to open. Drain, and when cool enough to handle, separate the layers. Spoon about a tablespoon of filling in each layer, more for larger pieces, less for smaller, then roll tightly. If you have filling left over, you can form it into balls and cook with the onions. Line the bottom of a medium saucepan with onion remnants or sliced potatoes; this will prevent the onion rolls from burning and sticking. Place the rolls closely in the saucepan; layering is fine. Combine the tamarind paste, lemon juice, salt and water and pour over the onions. Put a small plate on top to hold down the rolled onions. The liquid should cover the onions when pressed down with the plate. Bring to a boil on top of the stove, then simmer, covered, for 40 minutes. Transfer to a preheated 350º oven and cook for another hour and 20 minutes. Remove them from the pot by turning it over onto a serving dish. If you try to lift them with a spoon or other utensil, it's more likely they'll break apart. As you can see from my photo below, I didn't make the prettiest rolls, but they are still delicious.