While everyone’s been baking their little hearts out; tempting readers with homey gingerbread cakes, elegant pavlovas, and every deletable cookie imaginable, I’ve been busy experimenting with low-sodium, heart healthy, savory side dishes that will flatter the main attraction at your holiday table.
Always mindful of making meals that delight your taste buds while nurturing your body, this is the first time I’ve had to prepare a holiday dinner that doesn’t include sausage, bacon, pancetta, or cheese. I know we’re not alone in our gustatory passion for cured pork delicacies, unfortunately, these foods have no place in a low-sodium diet! And cheese - it’s practically a food group in itself! Rarely have we met a cheese we didn’t like - whether goat, sheep, or cow’s milk, fresh, aged, brined, herbed, rolled in nuts, or sprinkled with berries - and all have been sorely missed as I master the art of flavorful, low-sodium cooking to keep my man ticking.
Baking is a real challenge as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and baking powder (calcium phosphate and sodium bicarbonate) are essential. But, together, we’ve found a number of low-sodium products at Trader Joes (including no salt added chips that aren’t half bad) and online, including baking powder and baking soda that contain no sodium, but rather potassium as the active ingredient, and many other products that I’ll talk about in future posts.
Bread has a surprising amount of sodium, anywhere from 160 mg in a slice of whole wheat to 320 mg or more in a piece of cornbread, focaccia, pretzel bread, etc. Naturally, so do bread crumbs, even if homemade. Fortunately, I’ve always preferred Japanese-style panko for a crisp coating on my coconut shrimp or baked chicken and I was thrilled that the sodium content of Kikkoman’s Panko bread crumbs is only 40 mg per 1/2 cup serving. Other brand name bread crumbs had to be tossed, but the panko is here to stay 
Which brings us to this earthy mushroom, tart green apple “stuffing” made with panko bread crumbs that I’ve served up several ways. Brimming with seasonal flavors, it takes succulent baked stuffed pork chops to another level and has garnered rave reviews when presented as vegetarian stuffed mushroom appetizers, redolent with umami, it was easy to forget the sausage Here, I stole the idea of stuffing red onions, instead of mushrooms, that I spied in November’s Martha Stewarts Living.
Mushroom, Apple and Sage Stuffed Red Onions
Yield: 8 servings
8 small-to-medium red onions
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 portobello mushroom, chopped
1 red cherry chile pepper, minced
1/2 cup Kikkoman panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Granny Smith apple, chopped
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped sage
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1. Slice off tops and bottoms of onions, leave peel on. Using a melon baller or a spoon, scoop out the center of each onion about 2/3 way down. Sprinkle with salt if desired (I use no additional salt). Transfer onions to a prepared baking dish and cover with parchment, then foil. Bake until just starting to soften, about 40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, add butter and olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, apple and fennel seeds and cook for 2-3 minutes until apples are softened. Add garlic and red cherry chile, cook for one minute. Remove from heat, stir in panko bread crumbs, sage, parsley and 1/4 cup of Gruyere. Let cool.
3. Using the melon baller or a tablespoon measure, fill onions with stuffing and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of Gruyere. Bake until tops are crisp and browned, about 20 minutes more.
Whether your traditions are centered on brisket and latkes, ham, prime rib, pork roast, seafood, or turkey – the sweetness of roasted stuffed onions in their garnet coats will make a delightful addition to your celebratory dinner.
Enjoy
Ours is an intimate Christmas dinner - just the three of us this year, no travel to visit relatives in blustery environs with hopes for a White Christmas or escape-the-madness golf weekend in sunny Palm Springs… and I’m not disappointed in the least. It’s been a virtually stress-free holiday season for me and I’m ecstatic!
I never would have thought to do this! Love the idea of stuffed onions
Thanks Marla, you should give it a try!
This is such a great idea! The red onion makes it so festive and the filling looks and sounds just spectacular! I love the chile with the apple and fennel, such a myriad of flavors!
Yes, the flavors are amazing and the color of the skins seemed to pop after being roasted – perfect for the holiday table. Thanks Lisa
Oh Priscilla! This is just amazing! What a lovely side dish to any meal and the colors are just so gorgeous. I feel like this would go well with just about anything. Such a great idea. Honestly, I don’t think I have even considered stuffing onions, but now that I think about it…it is perfect!
Ravie – I know you’re not a vegetarian, so I have to say that the flavor of the roasted onions is perfect with pork or prime rib!
Even though I’m baking a little bit of every thing these days, this recipe is really tempting me:)It looks delicious and makes for a wonderful holiday side dish.
Thanks Lora! You are the Cake Duchess and I enjoy looking at all the sweets you post
This looks fantastic! Beautiful clicks.
These look wonderful… all the flavours of a festive meal crammed into one creative little side dish. I’d probably have never noticed it was a low-sodium recipe until you said so, which makes them doubly fantastic.
Might just have to add these to my Christmas dinner menu. I keep telling myself I need to be better about treating onions as a side dish in their own right, instead of just using them as a source of flavour.
Beautiful colors in your very creative side dish and yes it’s nice to see a healthy dish presented around the holidays.
I’m enjoying all the goodies, that’s for sure! But trying to get a little exercise besides taking baking sheets in and out if the oven! I hope you’re enjoying this holiday season and thanks again for sharing such a beautiful dish;-)
What a great idea! I love stuffing an onion instead of a pepper!
Holidays with just 3 is ok by me! It was just the 3 of us for Thanksgiving, and it was great to be quiet, and enjoy the time together!
this sounds lovely! i cant wait to try this. thank you for sharing this with us and have a great weekend.
Delicious! I love the combination of flavors and stuffing the pretty red onions is wonderful and actually quite festive. This would be delicious with any meal like a simple roast chicken. We are also having quiet, intimate family celebrations this year which I really love.
These are just gorgeous! It is a bit frighting to learn just how much salt is in out everyday foods and so happy to hear that the panko can stay…love that stuff and this wonderful recipe
Ryan’s family has a history with high blood pressure so I’m always looking for new recipes to try. Thank you for whetting my appetite. Now I don’t want to go to work in the morning, I just want to get in the kitchen and coo these stuffed onions! I hope you have a blessed week, my friend!