Chef Graziella
Arancini alla Siciliana
Golden fried rice balls from Sicily, where Arab culinary influence meets Italian home cooking. The saffron-perfumed rice conceals a heart of slow-simmered ragù and sweet peas.
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Cipolle Ripiene alla Piemontese
Created by
Piedmont's stuffed onions, where crushed amaretti and piquant mostarda meet ground meat in a filling that defies the simplicity of most Italian cooking. Baroque, yes. Worth the effort, absolutely.
Appetizers & Snacks
Italian, Piedmontese
Holiday
Special Occasion
45 min
Active Time
1 hr 15 min cook•2 hr total
Yield6 servings
Most Italian cooking celebrates restraint. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. And then there is Piedmont, where the influence of the French court and the wealth of the old aristocracy created dishes of startling complexity. Cipolle ripiene belongs to this tradition.
The filling seems improbable: crushed amaretti cookies with their bitter almond whisper, mostarda di Cremona with its candied fruit suspended in mustard-spiked syrup, ground meat, aged cheese. On paper, it should not work. On the plate, it is revelatory. The sweetness of the slowly cooked onion harmonizes with the amaretti. The mostarda provides heat that cuts through the richness of the meat. Each element makes sense of the others.
This is not a dish for those who want dinner on the table in thirty minutes. The onions must be blanched, hollowed with care, stuffed properly, and baked until they nearly collapse. It rewards patience. Serve these at the start of a special meal, when your guests have time to appreciate what they are eating.
Piedmont's stuffed vegetables trace to the 18th and 19th centuries, when the House of Savoy brought French culinary influence to Turin. The combination of amaretti and mostarda in savory preparations appears throughout the region's traditional cooking, reflecting an aristocratic taste for complex sweet-savory contrasts that distinguished Piedmontese cuisine from the peasant simplicity found elsewhere in Italy.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large yellow onions
Quantity
6 (about 10 ounces each)
ground veal
Quantity
6 ounces
ground pork
Quantity
4 ounces
amaretti cookies
Quantity
8 (about 2 ounces)
crushed to fine crumbs
mostarda di Cremona
Quantity
3 tablespoons
chopped fine
large egg
Quantity
1
beaten
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Quantity
1/2 cup
freshly grated
nutmeg
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon
freshly grated
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons
dry Marsala
Quantity
1/2 cup
beef or chicken broth
Quantity
1/2 cup
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large yellow onions | 6 (about 10 ounces each) |
| ground veal | 6 ounces |
| ground pork | 4 ounces |
| amaretti cookiescrushed to fine crumbs | 8 (about 2 ounces) |
| mostarda di Cremonachopped fine | 3 tablespoons |
| large eggbeaten | 1 |
| Parmigiano-Reggianofreshly grated | 1/2 cup |
| nutmegfreshly grated | 1/8 teaspoon |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| unsalted butter | 4 tablespoons |
| dry Marsala | 1/2 cup |
| beef or chicken broth | 1/2 cup |
Equipment Needed
- •Large pot for blanching
- •Melon baller or small spoon for hollowing
- •9x13 inch baking dish or similar
- •Aluminum foil
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the onions
Peel the onions but leave the root ends intact. This will hold them together during cooking. Slice off the top quarter of each onion and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the onion bodies and their tops, boil for 8 minutes. The onions should be pliable but not collapsing. Drain and let cool until you can handle them.
- 2
Hollow the onions
Using a small spoon or melon baller, carefully scoop out the center of each onion, leaving a shell two layers thick. Work gently. If you rupture the wall, the filling will escape during baking. Chop the scooped flesh fine. You should have about one cup. Chop the reserved tops as well and add them to the bowl.
Save any damaged onions for the filling. You need six intact shells, but extra onion flesh only improves the mixture. - 3
Cook the onion flesh
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion flesh and cook slowly until it turns golden and sweet, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. The onion should not brown deeply but rather turn translucent and take on a pale amber color. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
- 4
Make the filling
To the cooled onion, add the ground veal, ground pork, crushed amaretti, chopped mostarda, beaten egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands until the ingredients become one unified mass. The filling should hold together when pressed.
The amaretti provide sweetness and an almost-almond fragrance. The mostarda adds heat beneath the fruit. Together they create the sweet-savory balance that defines this dish. Neither ingredient can be omitted. - 5
Stuff the onions
Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly salt the inside of each onion shell. Divide the filling among the six onions, mounding it slightly above the rim. Do not pack too tightly or the filling will become dense. Arrange the stuffed onions in a baking dish where they fit snugly, propping each other upright.
- 6
Add the braising liquid
Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and scatter over the tops of the stuffed onions. Pour the Marsala and broth into the bottom of the dish, not over the onions. The liquid should come about one-third up the sides of the onions.
- 7
Bake the onions
Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the tops are golden brown and the onions yield easily when pierced with a knife, another 20 to 25 minutes. The braising liquid will reduce and become syrupy.
If the tops brown too quickly before the onions are tender, tent loosely with foil and continue baking. The onions must be completely soft. - 8
Serve properly
Let the onions rest for 10 minutes before serving. Spoon the reduced pan juices over each onion. Serve warm, not hot. The flavors emerge more clearly at a moderate temperature, and your guests can taste the interplay of sweet, savory, and sharp without burning their tongues.
Chef Tips
- •Seek out authentic mostarda di Cremona, where whole fruits float in syrup sharpened with mustard oil. The supermarket versions with mustard powder are poor substitutes. Italian specialty stores carry the real thing.
- •Amaretti di Saronno are the classic choice. You want the crisp cookies, not the soft amaretti morbidi. Crush them between sheets of parchment with a rolling pin or pulse briefly in a food processor.
- •Choose onions of uniform size so they cook evenly. Sweet onions like Vidalias work well, as do firm yellow storage onions. Avoid red onions, which turn an unappetizing gray.
- •These can be assembled several hours ahead and refrigerated before baking. Add 10 minutes to the covered baking time if starting from cold.
Advance Preparation
- •The filling can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before stuffing the onions.
- •Stuffed onions can be assembled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 6 hours before baking.
- •Leftovers reheat well in a 325°F oven, covered, for 20 minutes. Add a splash of broth to the dish to prevent drying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 310g)
Calories
410 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
10 g
Cholesterol
100 mg
Sodium
475 mg
Total Carbohydrates
38 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
20 g
Protein
17 g
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