Stuffed red peppers with lentils, spinach, parmiggiano reggiano and caramelized onions

I had a few odds and ends in my kitchen last night, notably a very juicy and sweet red pepper, several onions that needed to get used quickly,and some spinach. I also happened to have a bit of parmiggiano reggiano and a can of lentils.

3 medium sized onions, chopped coarsely.
4 TBS olive oil
1 15 oz can lentils
3 red peppers
2 handful of spinach (about 1 c.)
1/4 c finely grated parmiggiano reggiano

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Start by caramelizing the onions; put a cast iron skillet on medium heat or just a bit under as you want to be really careful not to burn the onions. Place the oil in the skillet and add another TBS or two if the bottom of the skillet is not covered. Err on the side of more oil, rather than less. If you're worried about the extra calories, dance around in your kitchen while the onions caramelize. If you can't manage to bring yourself to dance, have a glass of wine, pull down the shades... and jump around. When the oil begins to get ripples, dump the chopped onions in and let them go for a while until they just begin to brown. When this happens, stir them around. Stir every 10 or 15 minutes or so until all pieces of onion have been browned (but not burnt!). Definitely turn the heat down if the oil looks like it is smoking as this is a sure indicator that the heat is too high.

While the onions are caramelizing, cut the tops of the red peppers off and remove all of the seeds. Stuff some spinach leaves around the outside of the cavity. Drain the lentils and mix in a bowl with the grated parmiggiano. You can go heavy on the cheese if you prefer. When the onions are done caramelizing, mix the onions in with the lentil and parmiggiano mixture and spoon into the red peppers, filling or overfilling as you prefer. You can sprinkle some extra parmiggiano on top if you like. When the peppers have been stuffed,place them in the oven in a glass bowl or other oven proof dish and bake for 35 min or until peppers look pretty wrinkly on the outside (may be more than 35 min depending on how your oven holds heat, etc.).

Enjoy. :)