Soğan Dolması (Turkish Stuffed Onions)

One of my favourite parts about travelling for my series Vegan Cultures is the way it opens doors I wouldn’t normally walk through — especially when those doors lead straight into kitchens. There's something almost sacred about standing in someone else's culinary space, whether it’s a family home or a neighbourhood restaurant. That’s where I get to witness the joy of truly great food and the pride in the eyes of those who share the kind of dishes that shaped them. It’s intimate in a way little else is — a front-row seat to experience the heart and soul behind every dish.

That’s exactly how I felt in İstanbul, at the renowned restaurant Seraf Vadi, where I first tasted Soğan Dolması. At first glance, the dish’s humble appearance might fool you — just slow-cooked onions stuffed with spiced rice, right? But take a first bite and the story immediately begins to take shape: meltingly tender onion layers wrapped around a filling that’s somehow both bold and delicate at once.

Sinem Özler, the head chef of Seraf Vadi (and mentioned in a recent New York Times feature, though you’d never know it from her down-to-earth warmth), served me a regional version of Soğan Dolması, inspired by her own travels across the country. She explained that dolma, a staple in Turkish cuisine, literally means “something stuffed,” and there are countless variations: grape leaves, peppers, onions — all built around the same idea of filling and slow-cooking vegetables (fun fact: a shared taxi in Türkiye is also called a dolmuş, packed to the brim like the dish itself).

In Türkiye, dolma isn’t a solo project — it’s a group effort. Often, families gather around the table, chatting and filling layer after layer by hand. At Seraf Vadi, preparing the dolma is also a task shared by Sinem and her team, who carefully peel the onions, separate the layers — or “skirts”, as they're sometimes affectionately called — and stuff each one with a fragrant mixture until they snugly fill a massive tray. Once drizzled generously with good olive oil, the tray disappears into the roaring, wood-fired oven, where everything roasts slowly until the filling turns tender and the onions become deeply golden, with just the right amount of char. See how Sinem and her team make the dolması here:

Inspired by that afternoon at Seraf Vadi, I decided to try making my own version at home. I went with a slightly more common filling for the onions, flavoured with tomato and pepper paste, spices and plenty of pomegranate molasses. Some traditional recipes contain beef as well, but this naturally plant-based version is popular in many Turkish homes.

You may have guessed by now that this isn’t a quick weeknight meal. It's the kind of dish that asks a little something from you — patience, mostly — but rewards you with a different sense of appreciation for this kind of food. It’s a labour of love that is easy to overlook when you see an entire tray of stuffed onions slide into the oven, or when you sit down at a restaurant and tuck into a plate of them. But once you make them yourself, it’s as though every bite reminds you of the efforts invested — making you savour it ever more.

Now, onto the recipe.

Soğan Dolması (Turkish Stuffed Onions)

Active time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

Filling

• 400g short-grain rice (like baldo)

• 50g parsley

• 5 large garlic cloves

• 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses (60g)

• 1 tbsp tomato paste (25g)

• 1 tbsp pepper paste (tatlı biber salçası), 25g

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp baharat (20g)

• 1 tbsp sumac

• 1 tbsp pul biber

• 1 tbsp dried mint

Onions

• 1 lemon

• 8-9 large onions (around 1.6kg)

Sauce

• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (30g)

• 1 tbsp tomato paste (25g)

• 1 tbsp pepper paste (tatlı biber salçası), 25g

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil (90g)

• 700ml boiling water

• 1 1/2 tbsp salt (21g)

Method

Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Rinse the rice under the running tab, then add it to a bowl and cover generously with the boiling water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, continue with the onions. Add around 2l of water to a pan large enough to also fit the onions. Cut the lemon in half and add it to the pan, squeezing some of the juice into the water. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, trim the top and bottom 1 cm of the onions and peel them. Then use your knife to make a vertical incision, from top to bottom, up to the core of each onion, which will make it easier to remove the layers later on. Add the onions to the water, return to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the onions have softened slightly.

Fill a large bowl with cold water. When the onions are ready, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the cold water.

While the onions are simmering, prepare the filling. Trim and discard the lower stems of the parsley and finely chop the rest, setting some aside in the fridge as a garnish later on; peel and finely grate or crush the garlic. Add everything to a large bowl along with the remaining ingredients. You don’t need to mix it yet.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Once the onions are cold enough to handle, remove the individual layers, keeping them in tact as much as possible and discarding the thin membrane that will be left on top of the next layer.

You’ll end up with the cores of the onions. Finely dice 3-4 of them, add them to the stuffing along with the drained rice and use your hands to mix it well. Either keep the remaining onion cores for other dishes or discard.

To stuff the onions, place 1 heaped tablespoon of the filling on the inner end of an onion layer and roll it up towards the other end, giving it the shape of a shallot.

Transfer the stuffed onions to a wide, shallow casserole (around 30cm in diameter), or a large roasting tray, as you go to create one snuck layer.

To make the sauce, whisk together the ingredients in a jug or bowl and pour it over the onions. Cut a parchment paper into the size of the casserole, moisten it by crumbling it under the running sink and use it to cover the onions.

Roast them for 30 minutes, then remove the paper and roast for 20-30 minutes more or until they have absorbed most of the liquid and are beautifully golden. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes, during which the sauce will thicken further.

Traditionally, they are served at room temperature, but you can also enjoy them warm if you like. Serve with any of the remaining cooking liquid from the bottom of the tray and sprinkle with the reserved parsley.

Hope you enjoy these slow-cooked onions — good things take time, after all. See you next Tuesday for another biweekly round-up!

Much love,Julius