Recipe: Moroccan Stuffed Onions (using rice, chickpeas and currants)

MOROCCAN STUFFED ONIONS

4 medium onions
1 cups cooked brown basmati or plain rice
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
3 Tbsp. dried currants
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp. fresh ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Peel the onions. Cut off the tops at the point where the sides curve in towards the top. Cook the onions in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the pot.

When the onions are cool enough to handle, use a melon baller to scoop out the flesh, leaving a shell 2 layers thick.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the rice, chickpeas, currants, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Pack the mixture into the onions. Place the onions in an 8-inch square baking dish. Pour in the chicken broth. Drizzle the onions with the olive oil.

Bake until onions are tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. Set the onions on a serving plate.

Pour the cooking liquid into a small pot. Add the vinegar and boil the liquid until it is reduced to 1/4 cup. Pour 1 tablespoon of this liquid over each onion, and serve.

Each of the four servings contains 195 calories and 3 grams of fat.

Source: Dana Jacobi for the American Institute for Cancer Research