Bob Hart's Baked Onions

This recipe is for 4:

Set your oven to 180 C. Peel and trim the ends from 4 medium to large onions. Simmer them in a deep pot of lightly salted water for nearly half an hour, or until tender. Lift them out of the water and place on cutting board. When you can handle them, halve them lengthways (i.e. tip to root). Place them, cut side down, in a buttered ovenproof dish and pour 300ml of whipping or double cream (not thickened cream) over them. Season with fresnly ground pepper, a grind of nutmeg and a good handful of grated parmesan cheese (Italian reggiano, ideally, but never Australian "parmesan", which is disgusting, or anything sold pre-grated). Bake until golden and bubbling which, again, will take just under half an hour. Eat with sliced, cold meats or a plain, roasted chicken.