Chef Isabel
Albergínies Farcides Mallorquines
Albergínies farcides are Mallorca's summer stuffed aubergines: tender boiled shells, a slow pork sofrito with moraduix, and a plain breadcrumb cap baked until the top turns crisp and golden.
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Cebollas Rellenas de Carne Asturianas
Created by
Asturias stuffs onions for the pot, not for show: sweet onions filled with minced meat and braised slowly in tomato and wine until the walls turn soft enough for a spoon.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Comfort Food
Weeknight
Make Ahead
35 min
Active Time
1 hr 20 min cook•1 hr 55 min total
Yield4 servings
Cebollas rellenas de carne are Asturian, the meat-day cousin of the better-known onions filled with bonito. This is food from the mining valleys and home kitchens: whole onions hollowed out, packed with seasoned minced meat, then braised in tomato and white wine until the onion goes silky and the sauce turns deep and sweet. Esto es de Asturias, no de "España" a secas.
The step that decides the dish is the braise. The onions must sit low and steady, half-covered in sauce, long enough for their sharpness to disappear and their layers to soften without collapsing. Rush them and you get a hard onion around a cooked meatball. Give them time and the filling seasons the onion from inside while the sofrito, the slow onion base, thickens around them.
If you can't find the small sweet onions used there, choose medium yellow onions that are heavy for their size and no wider than 7cm. Bigger ones look generous but cook unevenly, and the filling dries before the onion surrenders. Use minced beef and pork together if you can; all beef works, but it eats firmer. Siempre sale, si lo sigues. It turns out if you follow it.
My Margin for this one is plain: don't hollow the onion too thin. Leave a wall of about 1cm, or the pot will punish you by opening them up before lunch.
Cebollas rellenas belong strongly to Asturias, especially the Nalón mining valleys around El Entrego, where stuffed onions are a local point of pride. The bonito-filled version is the most famous, tied to household cooking and local celebration, but meat-filled onions sit beside it as the richer cold-weather version. The method fits the Asturian table: modest ingredients, a patient sauce, and a dish that improves after a night's rest.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
medium yellow onions
Quantity
8, about 900g total
peeled, tops trimmed, hollowed
minced beef
Quantity
250g
minced pork
Quantity
150g
fresh breadcrumbs
Quantity
40g
large egg
Quantity
1
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
finely minced
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
finely chopped
fine salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
dry white wine
Quantity
120ml
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
400g
grated, or use 400g canned crushed tomato
sweet pimentón
Quantity
1 teaspoon
bay leaf
Quantity
1
chicken stock or water
Quantity
150ml
plain flour (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for thickening the sauce if needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| medium yellow onionspeeled, tops trimmed, hollowed | 8, about 900g total |
| minced beef | 250g |
| minced pork | 150g |
| fresh breadcrumbs | 40g |
| large egg | 1 |
| garlic clovesfinely minced | 2 |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons |
| fine salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| olive oil | 3 tablespoons |
| dry white wine | 120ml |
| ripe tomatoesgrated, or use 400g canned crushed tomato | 400g |
| sweet pimentón | 1 teaspoon |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| chicken stock or water | 150ml |
| plain flour (optional)for thickening the sauce if needed | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy casserole with lid, 28cm
- •Teaspoon or melon baller for hollowing onions
- •Kitchen string, useful for split onions
Instructions
- 1
Hollow the onions
Peel the onions and trim a thin slice from the root end so each one stands upright, but don't cut away the root completely. Cut a lid from the top of each onion and scoop out the centre with a teaspoon or melon baller, leaving walls about 1cm thick. Finely chop 200g of the scooped onion for the sauce and save any extra for another sofrito.
If an onion splits a little, don't throw it out. Tie it once around the middle with kitchen string and it will behave in the pot. Nadie nace sabiendo. - 2
Mix the filling
Put the minced beef, minced pork, breadcrumbs, egg, half the garlic, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and the black pepper in a bowl. Mix with your hand just until it holds together. Don't knead it like bread, or the filling tightens and eats heavy.
- 3
Fill and brown
Pack the filling into the hollow onions, pressing gently so there are no empty pockets, and sit the lids back on top if they fit. Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide casserole and brown the stuffed onions on their sides and bases for 6 to 8 minutes, turning carefully with two spoons. You are setting the outside, not cooking them through.
- 4
Build the sauce
Lift the onions to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the chopped onion centres to the same casserole with a pinch of salt. Cook low and slow for 15 to 18 minutes, scraping the pan, until the onion is dark gold and jammy. Add the remaining garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in the pimentón off the heat so it doesn't scorch, then add the wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
- 5
Braise low
Add the grated tomato, bay leaf, and stock, then settle the stuffed onions upright in the sauce. The liquid should come about halfway up their sides. Cover and braise over low heat for 55 to 65 minutes, turning the onions once if needed, until a skewer slides through the onion wall with no crunch. Keep it at a quiet bubble. A hard boil breaks the onions and toughens the meat.
- 6
Settle and serve
Move the onions to a warm dish. If the sauce is thin, simmer it uncovered for 5 to 8 minutes; if you want it thicker, whisk the flour with 2 tablespoons cold water, stir it in, and cook 3 minutes until glossy. Taste for salt. Return the onions to the sauce and rest them 10 minutes before serving, spooning the tomato-wine sauce over the tops.
Chef Tips
- •Choose onions that are even in size and heavy for their weight. Very large onions look grand, then betray you: the outside softens while the centre stays stubborn.
- •A mix of beef and pork gives the best filling, tender but still meaty. If you use only beef, add 1 extra tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture so it doesn't cook up dry.
- •Good canned crushed tomato is better than a poor fresh tomato. Sourcing wins. A watery winter tomato makes a thin sauce, and no clever hand fixes that.
- •These are better after a rest. Make them in the morning or the day before, then reheat gently in the sauce with a splash of water if it has thickened too much.
Advance Preparation
- •The onions can be hollowed and the filling mixed up to 12 hours ahead; keep both covered in the refrigerator and fill just before cooking.
- •The finished dish keeps well for 2 days in the refrigerator. Reheat covered over low heat, adding a spoonful of water to loosen the sauce.
- •For make-ahead serving, braise the onions fully, cool them in their sauce, and reheat slowly. The onion turns silkier and the filling seasons through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 390g)
Calories
500 calories
Total Fat
30 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
20 g
Cholesterol
120 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
33 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
13 g
Protein
25 g
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