Jeweled Rice Stuffed Onions (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

→ Onion prep

01 - 1.5 tablespoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), goes into water for boiling onions
02 - 2 large yellow onions, peel taken off and ends trimmed

→ Jeweled rice stuffing

03 - 1/4 cup sliced almonds
04 - 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, lightly crumbled
05 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
06 - 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, with extra if you want to drizzle more
07 - 1 cup basmati rice, washed till water looks clear
08 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
09 - 2 cups water, split
10 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus extra if you like more
11 - 1 cinnamon stick
12 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
13 - 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
14 - 1/4 cup salted pistachios, shelled and chopped, plus a little extra for sprinkling
15 - 2 tablespoons golden raisins, chopped small, plus a few more for topping
16 - 2 tablespoons dried tart cherries, chopped, plus extra if wanted for garnish
17 - 1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped, and a bit more for topping
18 - Pinch of flaky sea salt for finishing, if desired

# Instructions:

01 - Fill a big pot with approx 3 liters water and set it to boil. Cut off both ends of the onions and peel off the skins. With the onion sitting flat, make a cut from top to bottom without slicing through completely.
02 - Once the water's bubbling, dump in the kosher salt. Gently place the onions into the pot using tongs. Let them simmer around 20 minutes until they turn kinda see-through and tender. Pull them out and let 'em cool.
03 - Put your oven on 175°C while the onions are on the stove. Spread almonds over a baking sheet and pop them in for roughly 5 minutes. When they're toasted and smelling good, pull them out and jack the heat up to 200°C.
04 - Once the onions have cooled off, separate the layers by hand. Split the big outer layers in half so you end up with about 20 little onion wrappers. Put those to the side.
05 - Take the inner, smaller onion layers and chop them up fine. You'll toss these into the rice stuffing.
06 - Mix saffron with lemon juice in a tiny bowl. Let it hang out so it gets fragrant.
07 - Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 30 cm oven-safe skillet on medium. Add the chopped onion from earlier and cook till soft and see-through. Mix in your washed rice and half your melted butter; coat everything well.
08 - Toss in the bloomed saffron mix, then cumin, cinnamon stick, and cardamom. Stir it all into the rice so flavor gets everywhere.
09 - Pour in one cup (240 ml) of water, give it a stir, cover, and cook till most water has soaked in (about 3 minutes). Rice should still be a bit firm.
10 - Turn off the heat. Mix in your toasted almonds, pistachios, cherries, golden raisins, and chopped parsley.
11 - Lay out your skillet of jeweled rice, have a small tray ready, and keep your onion wrappers nearby for stuffing.
12 - Take about 2 spoonfuls of the rice and put them inside an onion shell. Don't pack it too tight—leave a little space for the rice to puff up when baking.
13 - Move your stuffed onions to the tray. You can chill these in the fridge now if you wanna bake them later.
14 - Brush the inside of a clean oven-proof pan with the last of your olive oil. Set your stuffed onions in a ring or whatever fits. Optionally, throw in the cinnamon stick now too.
15 - Pour the second cup of water over top. Sprinkle with salt, add black pepper, and finish off with the rest of the melted butter.
16 - Cover the pan and bake at 200°C for 30–40 minutes. When rice inside is all the way cooked, take them out and hit with a drizzle of olive oil if you’d like.
17 - Shower with more parsley, a handful of extra pistachios, bits of dried fruit, and that fancy finishing salt if you want. Serve right away.

# Notes:

01 - Take the onions out of boiling water when they're just soft enough—if they get too mushy, the layers will fall apart when you try to peel them.
02 - You can prep the rice mix and onion skins ahead. Put everything together and bake when you're ready.

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