Whole baked red onions

Name: Whole baked red onions
Yield: 6 - 8 as a starter or side salad
Ingredients: 4 large red onions skin on; olive oil for brushing; flaky sea salt to finish; 80 g walnuts (2¾ oz); 10 sage leaves rolled up and cut into really thin strips; 1 tablespoon honey; 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 2 tablespoons boiling water; 1 teaspoon mild chilli flakes; ½ teaspoon salt; a little freshly ground black pepper; 3 tablespoons olive oil; a few sprigs of mint leaves picked (about 15 g / ½ oz)

With sage, honey and walnut dressing

Vegetarianv

“Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer share a vegetarian barbecue recipe from their latest book Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant. ”

Serves 6 - 8 as a starter or side salad

DifficultyNot too tricky

Starters BBQ food

Chasing Smoke: Cooking over fire around the Levant

By Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

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Ingredients

4 large red onions , skin on
olive oil , for brushing 
flaky sea salt , to finish
FOR THE DRESSING
80 g walnuts  , (2¾ oz)
10 sage leaves , rolled up and cut into really thin strips
1 tablespoon honey 
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 
2 tablespoons boiling water 
1 teaspoon mild chilli flakes 
½ teaspoon salt 
a little freshly ground black pepper 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
a few sprigs of mint , leaves picked (about 15 g / ½ oz)

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Chasing Smoke: Cooking over fire around the Levant

By Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

BUY THE BOOK

Tap For Ingredients

Method

Halve the red onions through the core, keeping the skin on. Brush the cut faces with oil and place cut-side down on a hot grill. Roast for about 12 minutes till the cut surface is black and charred, then flip to skin-side down and leave to cook for 5 minutes more. Remove to a plate to chill till they are cool enough to handle.
Make the dressing while you wait. Roast the walnuts over the fire for about 8 minutes in an old sieve or dry frying pan, stirring occasionally. Slightly crush them and mix with all the other dressing ingredients apart from the mint leaves.
Break the cooled onion halves into petals, discarding the outer skins. Set the petals with their charred rims upwards on a large serving plate. Just before serving, thinly shred the mint leaves and mix into the dressing. Drizzle all over the onion petals and sprinkle with a little sea salt to finish.

Tips

To cook without a BBQ:
– Use a lightly oiled, preheated griddle pan on your stove top and cook just as you would on the fire, but beware, your house will get pretty smoky!

Chasing Smoke: Cooking over fire around the Levant

By Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

BUY THE BOOK