Turkish Stuffed Onions with Beef and Rice
Turkish Stuffed Onions or Soğan Dolması, an incredibly comforting and delicious high-protein dish made by stuffing tender onion layers with a delicious mixture of beef mince, rice, herbs and mild spices before baking them in a rich stock. They look impressive, but they are incredibly easy to make with everyday ingredients for a hearty and budget-friendly family dinner.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 485kcal
Ingredients
For the beef mixture
- 450 g beef mince ( ground beef, 1 lb)
- 4 large onions
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 65 g basmati rice (⅓ cup)
For the broth
- 400 ml beef stock (broth, 1 ⅔ cups)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
- Peel and trim the ends of the onions, and make a cut from top to bottom on one side only.
- Bring a pot of water to the boil, and cook the onions for 7-8 minutes.
- Allow the onions to cool just enough to be able to handle them, and carefully separate them into layers.
- To make the beef mixture, peel and chop the shallot and garlic, and add them to a mixing bowl together with the beef mince, olive oil, paprika, ground coriander, parsley, salt and pepper.
- Mix until well combined.
- Place one tablespoon of the beef mixture inside an onion layer, and roll it up gently.
- Repeat with the rest of the beef mixture.
- Arrange the stuffed onions tightly into a baking dish.
- For the broth, mix together all the ingredients and pour the mixture over the onions.
- Cover the dish with kitchen foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit), remove the kitchen foil, and bake the onions for a further 15 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven, and allow the onions to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Choose larger onions, as they can be separated into much bigger layers that are easier to fill. Small onions will only take a small amount of beef mixture and would end up being too time-consuming.
- Don't overcook the onions, we only need them to be soft enough and pliable to separate the layers. Overboiled they might not hold their shape as well.
- Don't overfill the onion layers, as the rice cooks, it will expand, so we need to leave room for that too. Make sure the stuffed onions are arranged tightly in the baking dish to help them keep their shape.
- It is important to cover the dish during baking time so that the onions can steam well and allow the beef mixture to cook through.
Nutrition
Calories: 485kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 971mg | Potassium: 849mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 625IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 4mg