Ingredients

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Carefully trim the root ends from each onion to make a flat base, then cut a 1cm slice off as a lid, replace it and wrap each onion in foil. Stand them on a baking tray and cook for 1 hour, or until they are fairly soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a thickbottomed pan and fry the garlic, sausage meat and thyme on a fairly high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring every so often to break up the sausage meat, then remove from the heat.

3. Once the onions are cool enough to handle, scoop out the centre from each one with a spoon, leaving a couple of layers inside the skin to hold it together, and leaving the lids intact.

4. Finely chop the cooked onion flesh that you have scooped out and combine it with the sausage mix, breadcrumbs and parsley and season to taste. Spoon the mixture into the onions, packing it in well, and replace the lids (leftover stuffing can be baked alongside the onions, in a small buttered dish). Put the onions on a lined baking tray, cover the whole tray with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. You can keep these warm for about 30 minutes or serve straight away. Discard the papery skins as you eat.