This beautiful dish can be served as part of an antipasto table or as a side dish with roasts. Red onions turn purple after cooking and are especially striking filled with orange squash -- perfect for Halloween. You can substitute any onion. This recipe is adapted from Lidia's Table by Lidia Bastianich (William Morrow 1998). It looks way more complicated than it actually is.
Makes 6 servings
For The Onions
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons coarse salt, plus more for the filling
6 medium-sized (about 3 1/2 inches in diameter) red onions
1 pound peeled and seeded buttercup squash (or substitute calabaza or butternut)
1/4 cup finely diced mostarda di Cremona with syrup*
1/4 cup fine plain dry bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 amaretti cookies finely crumbled (about 1/4 cup)*
For The Sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
*Mostarda di Cremona are candied fruits preserved in a white wine and honey syrup, highly flavored with spices and mustard. Both the mostarda and the amaretti are available at Italian markets, specialty stores and online.
Fill a 4- to 5-quart pot halfway full of water. Add vinegar and 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, peel the onions, leaving them whole, the root ends intact.
Add the onions to the water, cover the pot and cook until the onions are half-cooked -- a paring knife inserted into an onion should meet only a little resistance -- about 25 minutes. Don't overcook, or they will fall apart during stuffing and further cooking. Drain the onions and let stand until cool enough to handle.
While onions are cooling, in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the squash until thoroughly tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
Using a food mill fitted with the fine disc (or a food processor or blender), puree the squash into a large mixing bowl. There should be about 2 cups. Measure one-third of the squash and set aside.
To the remaining squash, add the mostarda and syrup, bread crumbs, egg and nutmeg. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut about 1/2 inch off the top -- opposite the root end -- of each onion. Carefully remove the center of each, leaving two or three outer layers intact for filling. To do this, hold the onion securely in one hand and scoop underneath the sections you want to remove with a soup spoon. Rotate the inner sections to free them.
Spoon the seasoned squash mixture into the onions.
In a small bowl, stir 2 tablespoons melted butter and the crumbled cookies together until blended and spoon the mixture over the onions. Brush an 11-by-8-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter and place the onions in the dish. Bake until onions and filling are browned, about 40 minutes.
While the onions are baking, in a medium-sized saucepan, combine the reserved squash puree, the cream and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Adjust the heat to a gentle boil and cook until the sauce is syrupy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the grated cheese and bring back to a boil
To serve, divide the sauce among 6 serving plates. Place onions over the sauce and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.
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