Greek Stuffed Onions (Salantourmasi)

Soak rice in water while you prepare the other ingredients.

Prep and boil the onions: Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cut the top and bottom off the onions and remove their skins, removing the tough outer 1-2 laters. Use a small knife to cut a slit down the onion lengthwise, cutting through to only the middle of the onion. Once the water is boiling, add the onions and boil until they are softened and the layers remove easily, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Blend the can of tomatoes in a blender and then mix all of the tomato sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Drain the rice and set aside.

Turn a large skillet to medium heat. Add olive oil to the pan along with diced onions and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened.

Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Stir in the grated tomato, tomato paste, rice, lemon juice, parsley, mint, salt, pepper, chicken stock paste and dried oregano. Stir together to combine and bring to a simmer, let simmer for 8-10 minutes to parboil the rice and let the liquid absorb. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Pour a thin layer of the tomato sauce mixture on the bottom of the large baking dish (or if using two baking dishes pour a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of each dish).

Stuff the onions - use your fingers to take apart each layer of the boiled onions so you have single layers. Stuff each onion with about 2 tbsp of the filling, placing in the middle of the onion and gently roll up so that the edges of the onion overlap.

Add stuffed onions to the large baking dish (or whichever baking dish you're using), making sure they fit tightly together.

Once all the stuffed onions are in the baking dish, pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the stuffed onions and cover with foil (if using two baking dishes divide the tomato sauce between the two dishes). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, baste the onion tops with the cooking liquids and bake uncovered for another 25-30 minutes, they should be very tender and slightly caramelized when finished.

Garnish with fresh minced parsley and enjoy!