053 / 75 · A Little Meat or Fish

Sausage and Lentil-Stuffed Onions

8 stuffed onion halves in tomato sauce; 2 halves per serving · Active 35 min · Total 1 hr 45 min

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Large onion halves become edible shells for a filling of lentils, a modest amount of pork sausage and bread crumbs. The scooped onion centers join the filling, so the recipe uses the whole prepared vegetable. A short simmer softens the shells before baking. Two stuffed halves and their share of tomato sauce make each portion.

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Onion halves stuffed with sausage and lentils in tomato sauce.

Soften the shells before scooping

Halve the peeled onions from stem to root so a small piece of root helps hold each shell together. Simmer them briefly, lift them out and let them cool enough to handle safely. A spoon can remove the inner layers while leaving two or three substantial outer layers. The shells may not be identical; small tears can be supported against a neighboring onion in the dish. Chop every scooped center for the filling instead of discarding the most useful cooked onion.

Keep the filling loose enough to eat

Cook the lentils until tender but still in separate grains, then drain well. Brown the sausage with the chopped onion centers and break it into small pieces. Fresh bread crumbs absorb the little remaining moisture and help the mixture sit in the shells. They should not turn it into a dense sausage loaf. Divide the filling between all eight halves and mound it gently, without pressing hard. The tomato sauce surrounds the onions during baking and keeps the bottoms moist. Check that the onions themselves are tender as well as the filling reaching its final safe temperature.

Ingredients

  • 4 large onions (about 2 lb/900 g peeled), halved lengthwise with root bases intact
  • Heaped 1/3 cup dried green or brown lentils (80 g), rinsed
  • 2 cups water (480 ml), for the lentils
  • 7 oz fresh pork sausage meat (200 g), removed from casings
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil (15 ml)
  • 1 cup soft fresh bread crumbs (60 g)
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes, 14 oz/400 g, with juice
  • 1/2 cup water (120 ml), for the sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (0.5 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (0.5 g)

Set out

Large saucepan, Small saucepan, Large skillet, Baking dish about 8 by 12 inches/20 by 30 cm, Slotted spoon, Food thermometer

Allergens

Wheat. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Put onion halves in the large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12–15 minutes, until outer layers soften. Lift out and cool for 5–10 minutes until safe to handle. Meanwhile simmer lentils in their measured 480 ml water for 20–25 minutes until tender, then drain.
  2. Heat oven to 400°F/200°C. Scoop onion centers out with a spoon, leaving 2–3 outer layers as shells. Chop all the centers.
  3. Heat oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and chopped onion centers and cook for 8–10 minutes, breaking up meat, until the sausage is cooked through. Stir in drained lentils, bread crumbs and pepper.
  4. Mix tomatoes, sauce water, oregano and salt in the baking dish. Set onion shells in the sauce and divide filling among them. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  5. Uncover and bake for 15–20 minutes more, until onion shells are completely tender and the center of the filling reaches 165°F/74°C. Rest for 5 minutes. Serve two halves and one-quarter of the sauce per person.

The onion centers belong in the meal

The centers are chopped into the sausage-lentil filling. Do not throw them away after making the shells; allow the pan mixture to reduce if they release extra water.

Ingredient labels

Sausage may contain milk, soy or additional wheat; check its ingredients.

A useful detail

The recipe uses fresh pork sausage, not a ready-to-eat cured sausage. Salt levels vary; the measured sauce salt is modest because the sausage already contributes seasoning.

Another way

  • Use 200 g ground pork with 1/2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs in place of sausage. Check the same 165°F/74°C final filling temperature.
  • Replace the dried lentils with 200 g cooked, well-drained lentils. Their initial cooking is then outside the base timing, and their original safe storage window applies.

Keep it well

Cool in shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Refrigerate covered at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 3 days. Reheat covered to 165°F/74°C. If using previously cooked lentils, follow their earlier cooking date rather than starting a new storage period.