Stuffed Onions

Description
This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi's vegetarian cookbook "Plenty". It was published in guardian.co.uk
 * Serves four.

Ingredients

 * butter, for greasing the dish
 * 500 ml vegetable stock
 * 350 ml white wine
 * 4 large onions
 * 3 small tomatoes
 * 120 g fresh white breadcrumbs
 * 90 g feta, crumbled
 * 80 g parsley leaves, finely chopped
 * 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
 * 2 garlic cloves, crushed
 * 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
 * ¾ tsp salt
 * black pepper

Directions

 * 1) Heat the oven to 180°C / gas mark 4.
 * 2) Butter a small ovenproof dish.
 * 3) Put the stock and white wine in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
 * 4) Meanwhile, trim 5mm off the tops and bottoms of the onions, then cut them in half lengthways and remove the brown, papery skin.
 * 5) Gently scoop out most of the insides (keep these for another use, as outlined above), retaining only the two or three outermost layers.
 * 6) Carefully separate the outer layers from each other and place a few at a time in the simmering stock.
 * 7) Cook for three to four minutes, until just tender, drain and leave to cool slightly (reserve the stock for another use, as above)
 * 8) To make the stuffing, use a coarse cheese grater to grate the tomatoes (you'll be left with most of the skin in your hand; just discard it).
 * 9) Put the grated tomato pulp in a large bowl and add the breadcrumbs, feta, parsley, olive oil, garlic, spring onions, salt and some pepper.
 * 10) Fill each onion layer generously with stuffing, then pull together the sides so you end up with a fat cigar shape.
 * 11) Lay the stuffed onions, seam-side down, in the buttered oven dish and pour over about 75ml of the reserved stock, just enough to cover the bottom of the dish.
 * 12) Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until the onions are soft and lightly coloured and the stuffing is bubbling.
 * 13) Add more stock if they dry completely before the end of the cooking process.
 * 14) Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve warm.