Of the many good ways to stuff onions, this is my favourite. This stuffing can also be used with large tomatoes, which are baked for 40 minutes or so. Another excellent stuffing for onions is to be found in the recipe for Little Gem lettuces here. Buy best tuna, not skipjack.
Serves 4
2–3 Spanish onions, about 450 g (1 lb)
200 g (7 oz) tuna preserved in brine or olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp capers, rinsed
1 small dried chilli, seeded
2 tsp dried oregano
1 garlic clove
2 slices of white bread without the crust: about 60 g (2 oz)
about 150 ml (1/4 pint) milk
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper
2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
Peel the onions and plunge them into boiling salted water. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the outer leaves are just soft, but still slightly crunchy. Drain and leave to cool.
Meanwhile drain the tuna and chop with the anchovy fillets, capers, chilli, oregano and garlic. Put the mixture in a bowl.
Soak the bread in the milk for 5 minutes. Then squeeze out the milk and break it up with a fork.
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F) mark 6
When the onions are cool, cut them in half and put aside about 16 outer leaves. Chop the remaining leaves and sauté them in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and then mix in the bread soaked in milk. Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes to allow the flavour to penetrate the bread. Add this mixture to the bowl, pour over 1 tablespoon of the oil and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasoning. You will probably find that there is no need for salt, and that the chilli has imparted enough hotness to make pepper unnecessary also.
Place a smaller outside leaf inside a larger one to make 8–10 onion cups. Choose a shallow ovenproof dish (I use a small rectangular metal one) in which the onion cups will just fit and brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil.
Place the onion cups in the dish, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and fill them with the tuna mixture. Sprinkle with the dried breadcrumbs, pour over the remaining oil and bake on the top rack of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a light golden crust has formed on top. If necessary, place under a hot grill for a few minutes to brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, neither piping hot from the oven nor freezing cold from the fridge. The flavours must be allowed to blend at the right temperature.
You can produce a most attractive first or second course by preparing two or three different stuffed vegetables and serving them together.
These onions, for instance, served with aubergines stuffed with luganega, pine nuts and sultanas (here), and with tomatoes stuffed with rice and black olives (here) would make a well-balanced combination.