Sogan-dolma – onions stuffed with beef and rice

Peel the onions and thinly trim off dry ends and hard root bases. Keep 1000 g edible onions in total. Slit each onion lengthwise along one side from top to bottom, taking the knife to the center, but do not cut it into two halves. Rinse the rice with cold water in a fine-mesh sieve and drain thoroughly; discard the rinsing water. The rice stays raw.

Bring 3 l water with 6 g salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the onions and, once the water returns to a gentle simmer, cook for 10–15 minutes, until the outer layers are soft and flexible. Lift them into a sieve and discard the water. Leave the onions for approximately 10 minutes, until comfortable to handle. Carefully separate the fleshy layers, opening them at the slit. Keep the whole flexible layers for filling. Finely chop the small centers and torn edible layers for the sauce. Keep the meat in the refrigerator until making the filling.

Combine the chilled ground beef with the drained raw rice, 5 g tomato paste, 50 ml water, the 6 g salt intended for the filling and all the black pepper. Mix briefly until evenly combined. Make the filling only once the onion layers have cooled and are ready to fill.

Place a small amount of filling on an opened flexible onion layer, adjusting it to the size of the onion. The filling should sit loosely, without packing, because the rice will expand. Roll the layer along its natural curve so the edges overlap slightly. Fill more layers in the same way. If any empty edible layers remain, chop those for the sauce as well. If any filling remains, form it into loose meatballs approximately 2–3 cm across; they will cook with the onion rolls.

Heat all the oil over medium-low heat in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, approximately 22–24 cm across. Add all the chopped onion centers and small edible onion pieces; stir for 3–4 minutes. Add the remaining 15 g tomato paste and the sweet paprika, stir briefly and immediately pour in some of the initial 700 ml water. Stir to disperse the paste, then add the rest of that portion of water. Arrange the stuffed onions close together, seam side down, in two layers if needed. Place any meatballs between the onion rolls. The liquid should almost reach the top layer; if needed, add some of the 150 ml hot reserve. This is one shared reserve for the entire braise.

Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Braise for 60–75 minutes from this point. The liquid should only simmer gently, not boil vigorously. Do not stir the onion rolls with a spoon; if needed, carefully move the pot by its handles. Occasionally check at the edge that liquid remains, and only if it is running low, add some of the remaining water from the same reserve of up to 150 ml. Toward the end, carefully cut open one larger dolma: the onion should be very tender, the rice soft in the center too and the filling fully cooked. If the grains are still hard, cook longer under the lid.

Take the pot off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. Taste the liquid and add some of the 2 g salt reserved for seasoning only if needed, gently stirring it in at the edge of the pot. Divide all the onion dolmas, any meatballs and all the sauce with the chopped onion centers among 4 deep plates. Serve hot; the sauce stays light, and all the braising juices and fat go into the servings.