We consume pounds of onions in one week, at least two a day not including all the red onions and shallots we like to roast as well. They are extremely high in flavonoids which tend to be at their highest in the outer skins. One which is worth a mention is quercetin, a potent natural anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory. This can be found in yellow and red onions and is believed to help hay fever sufferers, something some of you may find interesting as we approach the Summer months! High in Vitamin C, onions are also a good source of chromium, copper and manganese.
Did you know that it is believed that putting bowls of uncut onions around the house may prevent you from catching cold and flu viruses?
Baked Stuffed Onions GF SCD
4 large onions
1 medium carrot
large handful spinach
small handful fresh basil leaves
150 g walnuts or other mixed nuts
30 g sun dried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic crushed
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
50 - 75 g cheddar cheese (or vegan cheddar style cheese) - optional
Set the oven to 180°C then put the sun dried tomatoes into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Prepare the onions. Slice the top of the onion and peel the skin down from the top downwards.
Slice the bottom off the onions being careful not to reveal the inner flesh.
Place in a large pan and pour boiling water over the top of them.
Simmer for at least 20 minutes until the flesh is soft, this may take much longer depending on the size of the onion. Carefully tip them out on to a plate and scoop out the inner part of the onions leaving a few layers on the outside. This is quite tricky - I use a knife to cut through at first then scoop out the onion with a teaspoon. Be careful not to make a hole all the way through, if you do you can move one of the inner layers of onion to cover it. Place the onions in an oven proof dish.
Grind the nuts.
Chop the onion from one of the boiled onions and finely chop the carrot.
Finely chop the sun dried tomatoes.
Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add the chopped onion, carrot, crushed garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Cook gently for about fifteen minutes or until the carrots are soft.
Add a generous handful of spinach and a smaller handful of basil leaves.
Stir and cook gently until the spinach is wilted. Tip into a bowl with the ground nuts.
Mix together, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and add most of your grated cheese if you are using it leaving a little to sprinkle on top.
Stuff each onion with the nut mixture.
If you are using cheese, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of each onion. Brush with a little extra virgin olive oil. Cover with a lid or foil and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Take the lid or foil of the top and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes but watch that they don't burn. Test that they are cooked with a knife.
Serve with a tomato sauce and green vegetables or use smaller onions and serve as a side dish.
