STUFFED GREEK ONIONS

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, slice about one-third off the top of each onion, leaving a flat crown. Then remove a small slice from the bottom so it will remain upright in the slow cooker. Using a grapefruit knife or melon baller, carefully scrape out as much of the onion's core as you can without ruining the onion. Place the onions in the slow cooker insert, pour in the water, cover, and cook on low for about 3 hours, or until the onions are somewhat tender when pierced with a paring knife.
• While the onions are cooking, combine the cheeses, olive oil, currants, chopped mint, and pine nuts in a bowl, mix together with a fork, and add a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Remove the cover of the slow cooker and fill each onion with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture.
• Recover and continue cooking for about 1 hour longer, or until the cheeses are melted and the onions are very tender and getting brown around the edges. Spoon any liquid in the bottom of the cooker over the onions.
• Garnish each onion with a sprig of fresh mint and serve either hot or at room temperature.
• Suggested Beverage
• Okay, I can't resist. I'd like to suggest a wellchilled glass of retsina with this dish. Even the cheap, generic stuff would do, and probably bring back fond memories of the Greek islands. But several of Greece's new generation of winemakers have experimented with making artisanal retsina, and I'd like to suggest that if you can find one, you buy it and drink it. Gaia Estates' Thalassitis is one I can happily recommend.