Maple Balsamic Roasted Salmon, Brussels Sprouts, & Potatoes

I know it's a little late for brussels sprouts season and most of you are probably too focused on asparagus right now to think about wintry vegetables, but I'm happy to eat brussels any time of year (and we don't have local asparagus here yet last time I checked)!

I can also enjoy a meal like this any time of year - roasted salmon, vegetables, and potatoes all tossed in an easy homemade glaze. There's nothing revolutionary about this dish and you've likely seen or made a version of it once or several times before, but it's a great recipe to have in your collection because it's simple, healthful, flavourful, and satisfying!

I love adding a glaze to salmon because that little extra step makes such a difference in flavour; I usually use whatever ingredients I have on hand but that often includes maple syrup. I also love tossing roasted brussels sprouts and potatoes in balsamic vinegar and eating them just like that. So I decided to combine those flavours together with a maple balsamic glaze that I brushed heavily on the salmon and lightly on some roasted brussels sprouts, potatoes, and shallots on the side.

I don't often like coordinating main dishes with side dishes because it involves too much work but everything about this dish flows easily together, doesn't take long or dirty too many dishes, and most importantly tastes so good you'll want to add it into your meal rotation no matter the time of year!

Maple Balsamic Roasted Salmon, Brussels Sprouts, & Potatoes

Serves 4

Inspired by Real Simple but recipe is my own

Ingredients:

For the roasted veggies:

1 lb brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and outer leaves removed, halved

1 lb baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes, halved

3-4 shallots, peeled and chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

For the glaze:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

~1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1 lb or 4 fillets of salmon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss brussels sprouts, potatoes, shallots, and garlic with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and spread in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Roast in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze by heating 1 teaspoon olive oil or a light drizzle in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon, salt, and pepper. Let simmer, stirring often, and watching closely, until slightly thickened. This could take around 5 minutes. I don’t reduce the glaze until it’s completely thick; I remove it from the heat when it’s thickened but still pourable.

Remove vegetables from oven and toss.  Brush glaze over salmon fillets (you won’t use all the glaze) and place on the same or a separate foil-lined pan, skin side down.  Return salmon and vegetables to oven and roast for another 10-12 minutes or until salmon and vegetables are cooked through.  Brush remaining glaze over salmon and roasted veggies.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Sweet Potatoes with Ricotta & Kale

Today's my birthday and while I should be posting a picture of a decadent layer cake, instead I'm sharing sweet potatoes and kale.  And while some may think this is blasphemous, I would probably take a baked sweet potato smothered in goat cheese over a piece of frosted cake any day!  Which is mostly because I'm not a huge cake person (though I will still make one this weekend!), but also because this meal was so delicious!

It's also simple to make - roast some sweet potatoes, top them with a mixture of light ricotta and goat cheese, some sauteed kale and shallots, and finally some crispy garlic chips on top.  The original recipe only called for ricotta, but I added in some goat cheese because I find ricotta too plain on its own and because goat cheese goes well with sweet potatoes.  It added more fat to the otherwise fairly light cheese mixture, but because there's not much fat elsewhere in the meal I thought it was perfectly acceptable!  I also added shallots to the kale mixture for more flavour, but you can easily leave them out if you prefer.  Just don't skip the garlic chips on top - they're so good and super easy to make!

I loved how the sweetness of the potatoes was balanced out by the creamy cheese and slightly bitter kale, and because of the protein in the ricotta I considered this to be a complete meal in its own, and was actually pretty full afterwards!

I'm thinking of making a cheesecake this weekend to celebrate my birthday with my family so if it turns out I'll be sure to share it soon to balance out the kale from today :)  While I may not be a huge fan of regular cake, I always welcome a slice of cheesecake, probably because cheese makes everything better!  

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Ricotta & Kale

Adapted from Body + Soul

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet potatoes, about 8-10 oz each

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced crosswise

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

1 bunch kale, thick stems removed, leaves torn into large pieces

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

3/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese

1/4 cup (about 2.5 oz) plain goat cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Scrub sweet potatoes, pierce all over with a fork, and rub skins with 1 tablespoon olive oil (total for all sweet potatoes).  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake in preheated oven until easily pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and cook  until golden, stirring often, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel to drain.  They should be crispy like garlic chips.

Add shallot to the pan and sautee for a couple of minutes until softened.  Add kale, cover with a lid, and let cook for 1-2 minutes.  Remove lid, stir, and cook for another minute or two until just wilted and tender.  Season generously with salt and pepper, stir in vinegar and red pepper flakes, and remove from heat.

Mix goat cheese and ricotta in a small bowl until smooth.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise, and top with the cheese mixture, kale mixture, and garlic chips (evenly divided across the 4 potatoes).  Serve warm.

Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus

Sorry I haven't posted very much lately!  I had wanted to share a few Thanksgiving-y recipes before American Thanksgiving this week (even though we already had our Thanksgiving over a month ago, I always love an excuse to make comfort food!) but I just didn't have time.   I did, however, make this amazing balsamic caramelized onion hummus last weekend so I'm selling it as a last-minute Thanksgiving appetizer idea for my American friends, but you can and should make it any other time you want!

If you've read my blog for some time you know I love hummus, and especially trying new flavours of hummus.  I try to make it myself when I can because it's usually cheaper and healthier (plus you get a much bigger batch than the tiny containers from the store!), but I often buy it too, especially when a new flavour catches my eye at the grocery store.  The latest one to do so was Summer Fresh's caramelized onion hummus, which I completely devoured and then vowed to make my own version.

So I drew inspiration from the ingredient list on the container as well as a few recipes I easily found online to make my own recipe, and at the last minute decided to drizzle in a balsamic reduction to make it extra special!

I know I say this after every hummus I make, but I think this is my new favourite hummus!  Caramelized onions are already one of my favourite things to add to any dish, but they work especially well blended into a creamy dip and complemented with the sweetness of the balsamic reduction.  I left some caramelized onions whole too which gave the dip a nice added texture.

I ate mine with caramelized onion triscuits which obviously went perfectly well with the hummus.  They made great dippers, but if you want to make this a bit of a fancier appetizer, you can spread some hummus on the crackers and top them with a little caramelized onions and balsamic drizzle.
 A little more work but also a little prettier!

If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I hope you have a wonderful time with family, friends, and food! 

Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus

Recipe inspired by Summer Fresh Caramelized Onion Hummus with additional inspiration from several sources including The Real Housewife, An Edible Mosaic, The Sweets Life

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium yellow or sweet onions, thinly sliced

1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar, divided

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, divided

1 (540mL) can chickpeas

3 tablespoons reserved liquid from can of chickpeas

3 tablespoons tahini

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and stir to coat with oil.  After about 5 minutes, season with a bit of salt.  Spread onions out evenly across the pan and let cook, stirring about every 3-4 minutes, until softened, about 20-30 minutes total.  In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add 1 teaspoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, and stir to coat.  Once they are caramelized to your liking, remove from pan.  Save a small amount of onions to top the hummus later, if desired.  Add the rest to the large bowl of a food processor. 

Meanwhile, reserve about 3 tablespoons of liquid from the chickpea can and drain and rinse the rest of the chickpeas.  Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and let simmer until reduced to a thick, syrupy liquid, about 1-2 tablespoons worth.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Add to the food processor the chickpeas, liquid from the chickpea can, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, salt, and pepper.  Process until smooth.  Adjust any ingredient amounts to your liking, if necessary.

Serve hummus topped with reserved caramelized onions and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

Spiced Squash, Lentil, & Goat Cheese Salad

Sorry for the lack of posts lately – two Saturdays ago I travelled up to Northern Ontario to visit family for Thanksgiving and stayed just over a week.   I had fully intended to go about my regular routine while I was up there, getting lots of work done, staying caught up with my Feedly reader, and writing a couple blog posts, but before I knew it I was boarding a plane back home and I’d done almost none of the above.  I really have no idea where the time went, though I do know I enjoyed it!

As usual, I was spoiled on my trip and almost never had to make any food for myself.  The one dish I made the whole week was this squash and lentil salad, which we enjoyed with some butternut squash soup as a nice lighter meal after our big Thanksgiving feast. I offered to make it because I’d been eating it for my lunches the whole week before I left and I loved it so much that it was still on my mind!

Somehow, whenever I’m under pressure to make something for guests, it never turns out as well as when I make it the exact same way for myself at home (or maybe I'm extra critical when I know it's being judged), but everyone still enjoyed it!

This salad is bursting with fall flavour and is hearty and filling thanks to the lentils and squash, while still feeling light and healthful.  It takes a bit of time to roast the squash and cook the lentils, but other than that everything comes together pretty easily.  I didn’t change much from the original Bon Appetit recipe except to add pumpkin seeds and cranberries, which add some crunch, sweetness, and even more of a festive feel to the salad.  

I can't believe that now that I'm back, it's already time (or past time) to start thinking of Halloween recipes!  It's crazy how fast October is flying by - hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am!

Spiced Squash, Lentil, & Goat Cheese Salad

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes about 4 large (main) or 8 small (side) servings

Ingredients:

1 large (around 2 pound) butternut squash

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or paprika plus a dash of cayenne if you don’t have smoked paprika)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup green or brown lentils

4 cups baby arugula

3/4 to 1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 tablesoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Peel butternut squash, remove seeds, and cut into about 1” cubes.  I find it easier to cut squash after microwaving it first – just prick it all over with a fork or small knife and microwave on high for about a minute.  Toss cubes of squash with 2 tablespoons oil, the cumin, paprika, and salt.  Spread squash in an even layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.  Toss, return to oven, and roast for another 10-15 minutes.  Let cool.

Meanwhile, bring around 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add lentils, cover, reduce heat to simmer, and let cook for about 30 minutes, until tender but firm.  Drain and rinse lentils under cold water.

Combine lentils, squash, arugula, about half the goat cheese, pepitas, cranberries, balsamic vinegar, and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Divide into servings and top each with remaining goat cheese.

Pear, Blue Cheese, & Caramelized Onion Panini

I know I just posted a panini recipe fairly recently, but this new panini was so good that I had to share it with you guys immediately!

I also know that these pictures are extremely similar to the last set, but there are only so many ways you can photograph a sandwich. The one thing I don’t like about paninis is that because everything gets pressed together, whatever's between the bread is almost impossible to show in photos (and what parts you can see look indistinguishable).  But I love making and eating paninis, so you’ll have to use your imagination a little to see through those pieces of bread to the deliciousness that’s in between them!  Here's a little help - this is what was inside my sandwich before I pressed it together:

I wanted to make an autumn-ish panini with one of my favourite flavour combinations – pears or apples with blue cheese and caramelized onions.  I’ve used at least a couple of these ingredients together in the past, like in these apple, caramelized onion, and blue cheese naan pizzas, apple turkey burgers with caramelized onions and brie, and roasted potatoes and green beans with caramelized onions and blue cheese – there’s something about caramelized onions and blue cheese together that I just can't get enough of.  

Add in some juicy, lightly sautéed pears, some peppery arugula and spicy honey Dijon, press it together until it's warm and melty, and you have what may be my new favourite sandwich!

And before someone points it out, yes I’m aware that the onions as pictured above are much more on the burnt side than the caramelized side – I swear I do know how to caramelize onions, but I only had a tiny onion to work with that had been open in the fridge plus I was in a big rush when I made this.  Too thin slices + too high heat = burnt onions.  Try not to make the same mistake I did, but if you’re really in a hurry, you could leave them out and this panini would still be delicious; I recommend making time to add them in though - caramelized onions make everything better!  Plus they can always be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge to add to all sorts of things!

I’ve also been on a big blue cheese kick lately, adding it to anything I can think of, but I know a lot of you don’t like blue cheese (though I cannot understand why!), so you could substitute something like brie or gruyere instead if you like.  Your sandwich will have a different flavour profile, but will still be amazing and even more melty!

Pear, Blue Cheese, Caramelized Onion, & Arugula Panini

Adapted from Clean Eating

Makes 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 medium-large yellow or red onion, thinly sliced

Salt & Pepper

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)

1/2 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced

2 slices whole grain bread

2 teaspoons honey Dijon mustard

1/2 oz blue cheese, sliced thinly

Handful of baby arugula

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium to large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions, stir to coat with oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Let cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized, about 25-30 minutes.  I like to add a splash of balsamic vinegar in the last few minutes of cooking to deglaze the pan and add some flavour to the onions, but this step is optional.

Remove onions from pan, and add sliced pear.  Cook over medium heat for around 3 minutes, until softened and slightly golden coloured.  Remove from heat.

Spread mustard on one slice of bread, top with arugula, onions, pears, and blue cheese, and the other piece of bread.  Heat in a panini press, or if you don’t have one, heat the sandwich on a griddle pan (or skillet) with a heavy pot on top of the sandwich to press it into the skillet (I put a can inside the pot to weigh it down), then flip and repeat on the other side.  Serve warm.

Chicken, Pear, & Goat Cheese Salad with Wheat Beer Vinaigrette

Now that fall has officially begun, I’m craving all things autumn: apples, pears, cranberries, squash, sweet potatoes, apple cider, warm drinks, and pumpkin everything, though I’ve had particular cravings for pumpkin baked goods and pumpkin pie. It’s crazy to think that (Canadian) Thanksgiving is only a couple weeks away and I haven’t made anything with pumpkin yet – I think that needs to change this weekend!

But before I start baking, my first venture into comforting fall dishes began a little healthier with this salad!

I’ve been wanting to try using beer in a vinaigrette for a while now - the house salad at a popular restaurant chain around here includes a beer dressing, and though you can’t taste it, the idea of including beer in your dressing makes the idea of salad for dinner so much more exciting!  So I found a recipe for a pear and walnut salad with wheat beer vinaigrette from Vegetarian Times and used that as a base for the salad that I had in mind.

Wheat beer is pretty mild, but when you reduce it, it intensifies in flavour (which is why you don’t want to start with a strong or bitter beer).  Once you add all the other ingredients for the dressing though, you’d have no idea there’s beer in there, it just subtly enhances the flavour in a nice way that complements the other fall ingredients in the salad – including pears, goat cheese, pecans, cranberries, and chicken.

I loved this salad as is (and think it would be great for Thanksgiving!), but you could also make tons of substitutions to it to make it your own. Blue cheese instead of goat cheese would be delicious, or apples instead of pears, walnuts instead of pecans, spinach or arugula instead of mixed greens, or even leave out the chicken for a vegetarian side salad. You could also of course use any dressing you like if you don't keep beer in the house - a maple balsamic vinaigrette would probably taste great!

Hope you all enjoy the first official full weekend of fall!

Chicken, Pear, & Goat Cheese Salad with Wheat Beer Vinaigrette

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Serves 4 as a main dish

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons wheat beer

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1/2 tablespoon honey

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)

1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper

For the Salad:

~4 cups mixed salad greens

2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced

2 ripe bosc or red-skinned pears, halved, cored and thinly sliced

3 oz goat cheese, crumbled (or as an alternative you could use blue cheese)

1/4 cup toasted pecans or walnuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Prepare the vinaigrette: Add wheat beer to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and let simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 5-7 minutes).  Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining dressing ingredients (shallot through to pepper).  Set aside.

Prepare the salad: Divide greens among 4 plates or bowls.  Top each salad with sliced chicken and pears, and sprinkle pecans, cranberries, and goat cheese on top.  Drizzle each salad with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Note: All amounts are approximations - adjust based on your own tastes if desired.

Portabella Mushroom Burgers with Provolone, Caramelized Onions, & Roasted Red Peppers

This is the last recipe that I made during summertime but hadn’t shared yet, and it’s appropriate that I waited to post it until today considering the high is 34°C (93F) here, with a humidex of over 40°C (104F) – it feels hotter today than most days we had during real “summer”!  Not that I’m complaining, because it’s lovely to get one more blast of heat before it likely cools down for good. And I’m ready for that too – football started this past weekend (go niners!), my sister went apple picking, and there was a chill in the air but still sunny skies, all of which got me pretty excited for fall!

And while burgers are usually seen more as summertime food, the earthy, smoky flavours in this particular burger make it great for this transition period into fall!

I’ve eaten portabella (or portobello, if that’s how you like to spell it) burgers a few times before but had never made one myself until now. Portabella mushrooms make a great vegetarian substitute for burgers because they have a meaty texture and earthy taste, but without the fat that usually comes along with meat burgers!

Plus mushrooms make a great canvas for piling on flavourful toppings. For my version, I decided to complement the smoky, savoury flavour of the mushrooms with caramelized onions and a little provolone cheese, which I then balanced out with sweet roasted red peppers and peppery fresh arugula.

Not only was this burger pretty healthful, but it was also packed with flavour – I devoured mine and then immediately scolded myself for not making portabella burgers earlier!

A few tips I learned along the way: 1) Marinating the mushrooms beforehand gives them extra flavour, as otherwise mushrooms on their own can be somewhat bland; 2) Be sure to spray or oil your grill/pan because the mushrooms can be somewhat sticky!; and 3) Mushrooms shrink as they cook and release moisture – I chose large buns based on their size pre-cooking, but as you can see, they didn’t fill the bun after cooking, so smaller buns would have been a better choice!

Don’t wait as long as I did to try these if you haven’t yet; and if you’re already a mushroom burger fan, feel free to share your own cooking tips or favourite recipes!

If you’re having as great as weather as we are here today, hope you get a chance to get outside and enjoy it!

Portabella Mushroom Burgers with Provolone, Caramelized Onions, & Roasted Red Peppers

Makes 2 burgers

Ingredients:

For the Mushrooms:

2 portabella mushrooms

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pinch each dried basil and oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt & Pepper

For the Toppings:

1 red bell pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 large or 2 small yellow onions, peeled and sliced into half moons

Salt and pepper

Splash of balsamic vinegar

2 large slices of provolone cheese (enough to cover the two mushrooms)

2 handfuls of baby arugula

2 whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil.

Remove stems of mushrooms and scrape out the gills, if desired.  Whisk together the vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, garlic, and a bit of salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Add mushrooms and marinade to a bowl, tossing mushrooms to coat well.  Leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes.

Rub red pepper with a teaspoon of olive oil (don’t use extra virgin olive oil as it has a lower smoke point.  Vegetable or canola oil would also work.)  Place on foil-lined baking sheet on the top rack of the oven.  Broil until dark blotches begin to appear on one side, then turn with tongs and repeat until all sides have black patches.  Amount of cooking time will vary depending on your oven and the size of your pepper; mine took around 15-20 minutes total.  When done, remove from oven and place in a bowl.  Cover tightly with saran wrap to let pepper steam (and loosen the skin) for about 15 minutes or until slightly cooled, then remove the skin, cut pepper in half, scrape out the seeds and membranes, and slice into strips.  

*Note: If you’re short on time, you can use storebought roasted red peppers in a jar.  I preferred to make my own to use less oil; it does take some time, but it can be done while you’re marinating/cooking the mushrooms and caramelizing the onions so everything finishes in roughly the same amount of time.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add sliced onions, stir to coat with oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Spread onions out evenly across the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized, about 25-30 minutes. Don’t stir the onions too often so they can brown, but don’t leave them alone long enough to burn or stick to the pan. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar about 20 minutes into cooking to deglaze the pan and darken the onions.  When done, set aside in a small bowl.

When mushrooms are done marinating, heat a grill or indoor grill pan over medium heat.  Brush grate with oil or spray grill pan to prevent sticking, then place mushrooms on grill with gill sides up first.  Grill for 5-7 minutes per side or until tender, brushing with the marinade a few times.  In last 2 minutes of cooking, add provolone cheese on top of each mushroom to melt.  If desired, toast buns on grill for 1-2 minutes as well.

Assemble burgers by topping the provolone mushrooms with the caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, and arugula on whole wheat buns.  Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Caramelized Onion, Apple, and Blue Cheese Naan Pizzas

I think naan pizzas might be my new favourite thing; I've already expressed my love for breakfast naan pizzas with an egg on top, but I can confirm that dinner pizzas are just as good! Especially when you're cooking dinner for one (like I am the majority of the time) - Just take a piece of naan out of the package (and whole wheat works great for a healthier option!), top it with desired toppings, bake for about 10 minutes, and you have a delicious light thin-crust pizza for one!

While you can pretty much top them with anything you like, if you like blue cheese, you have to try this combination of apples, blue cheese, and caramelized onions first - this was seriously one of my favourite things I've eaten in a while!

I already knew that blue cheese and apples go well together because they're some of my favourite salad ingredients, but adding caramelized onions and a sprinkle of thyme made for an amazing combination of flavours.  I even found a caramelized onion flavoured naan bread to use as my pizza base, which went perfectly, but if you can't find them, just use regular or whole wheat naan and these will still be delicious.

Speaking of pizza, I'm off to go enjoy a pizza lunch with my office - Hope you all have a great weekend!

Caramelized Onion, Apple, and Blue Cheese Naan Pizzas

Serves 4 (1 naan pizza each).  I recommend serving them with a side salad.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large sweet onions, peeled and sliced into half moons

Pinch of salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4 caramelized onion flavoured naan breads (if you can’t find them, plain naan is fine)

1 Gala apple, thinly sliced right before using

4-5 oz blue cheese, crumbled (or about 1/2 cup crumbled)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Directions:

First, caramelize the onions (this can be done ahead of time, just keep them in the fridge).  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions, stir to coat with oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Spread onions out evenly across the pan and let cook, stirring only occasionally, until softened, about 15-20 minutes.  Add sugar and balsamic vinegar, stir to coat, and let cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, stirring only occasionally.  Once they are caramelized to your liking, remove from pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Prepare naan pizzas by dividing toppings evenly among each naan bread.  Top each first with a layer of caramelized onions, followed by sliced apples, crumbled blue cheese, and fresh thyme.  Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes and serve.

Butternut Squash & Blue Cheese Crostini

So I promise this is the last time I'll complain about snow on here (especially because I know a lot of people have even worse weather right now), but it was practically a blizzard on my way to school yesterday!



It was actually a very beautiful and peaceful falling snow; I would have loved it in November-December and tolerated it in January-February, but it was just hard to appreciate in April!  I need the snow to stop so the already too short season for spring vegetables here (in Ontario) doesn't get any shorter!

But while I'm (impatiently) waiting, I'm at least happy to extend the season of delicious winter ingredients like butternut squash a little further.  And using squash atop crostini not only feels light enough to help transition my meals into Spring, but also makes for what is probably my new favourite appetizer!

This was my first time pairing squash and blue cheese together and the combination worked so well together!  I wanted to add caramelized onions because I thought that would make the flavour combination even better, but to keep things on a smaller scale I sauteed some minced shallots instead, which worked even better.  Add a drizzle of balsamic reduction to bring it all together and you have an elegant and flavourful appetizer that would be a unique addition to any party! Or if you want to make this into a meal for yourself and don't love crostini, the squash and blue cheese mixture on its own was delicious and would taste amazing mixed into a salad with a balsamic dressing.

It's looking much better out today so fingers crossed I'll have a Spring recipe to share next week! :)

Butternut Squash & Blue Cheese Crostini with Balsamic Reduction

Makes about 10 crostini

Ingredients:

1 pound butternut squash cubes, about ½-inch wide

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Salt and pepper

1 large shallot, minced

~1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 whole wheat baguette, sliced diagonally into about 10 slices (you may not use the whole loaf)

1 to 1.5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Toss butternut squash cubes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes, until tender and cooked through.

Meanwhile, add balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Let simmer until reduced to only about 1 tablespoon – it should be thicker and syrupy.  Remove to a small bowl to let cool.

Heat remaining olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced shallot and cook until golden brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Once squash is done, leave oven on, and spray baguette slices with cooking spray.  Set on baking sheet and let toast in oven for about 3-5 minutes, until crispy.

Meanwhile, mix squash with shallots and blue cheese in a large bowl.

Assemble the crostini:  Spoon the butternut squash mixture onto each toasted baguette slice.  Drizzle with balsamic reduction and serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: I added a tiny amount of minced parsley to add some green on top of the crostini for visual purposes, but basil would probably work well too if you like!

Roasted Beet, Arugula, & Honeyed Goat Cheese Panini

This will be a quick (or quickly written) post as I'll soon be jumping on a flight back home from Boston!  I attended a conference here this past week (which is the reason for the lack of posts lately, sorry!) and also had a day to explore the city for the first time, which I absolutely loved.  So many beautiful streets and neighbourhoods, lots of history and amazing buildings, friendly people, and great food!  I was lucky to be here on St. Patrick's Day too, and though I didn't participate in the festivities myself (except for a delicious Harpoon IPA or two in my room), it was fun to see all the people covered in green out celebrating!

In the interest of keeping this short, there's not much I need to tell you about this sandwich except that it's one of my favourite things!  Beets and goat cheese together are always a winning combination, but combine them with arugula (or greens if you can't find arugula, like myself) in a warm pressed sandwich and they're even better.

You've probably seen a few of these sandwiches around the web before, but what makes this one different is the addition of honey to the goat cheese and dressing the greens with balsamic dressing before putting them in the sandwich - both very small changes that improve the flavour of the sandwich significantly.  

Oh and one more thing I wanted to share!  If you don't have a panini press, you can still make paninis!  I don't have a press either, but you can replicate its effects by pressing your sandwich on a skillet using a heavy pot.  If you don't have a heavy pot, stack several pots together to increase the weight, as in the picture below (please ignore my filthy pots, that's what happens when you live in a hard water city).  Just be sure to flip your sandwich halfway through so it gets heated on both sides.  I used a griddle pan which added lovely smokey grill marks, but a regular pan would work just fine too.

Hope you all had a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day and have a great week ahead!

Roasted Beet, Arugula, and Honeyed Goat Cheese Panini

Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 medium beets

2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 slices hearty bread – I used Bavarian rye

2 tablespoons goat cheese (or more, depending on size of bread)

1/2-1 teaspoon honey or agave

2 handfuls arugula or field greens

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Drizzle beets with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil.  Roast on a baking sheet for about 1 hour, until tender.  When cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and slice into thin rounds, about ¼” thick.  Season with salt and pepper.

If you don’t have time to roast the beets that long, you can take a shortcut method:  Peel and slice the beets before roasting, drizzle slices with oil and season with salt and pepper, lay in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, and roast in a 375°F oven for 20-30 minutes until tender.  However, I find that the beets do not turn out as well using this method.

Mix goat cheese and honey to taste.  Dress greens with 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.  You can adjust the amount of dressing depending on the quantity of greens you’re using – use your best judgment.  Dressing the greens will give them more flavour in the sandwich.

Spread goat cheese evenly on two slices of bread.  Top with sliced roasted beets, followed by greens, and another slice of bread to form two sandwiches. 

Cook sandwiches in a panini press.  If you don’t have one, you can cook them on a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat.  Place a heavy pot (you can place a can or smaller pots inside to make it heavier) on top of the sandwiches to press them into the hot pan.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, then flip and repeat with the remaining side.  Serve warm.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Chickpeas & Cranberries

I’m guessing that a lot of people are busy today either running around doing last minute shopping for the holidays, staring at the clock waiting for work to be over and holidays to start, or working more than ever during the busy retail season, so I’ll try to keep today’s post short and to the point!

This warm quinoa salad has lots of roasted brussels sprouts, some toasted walnuts for crunch, dried cranberries for sweetness, and chickpeas for added protein (although quinoa is a complete protein itself), all tossed in a light balsamic dressing. It’s healthy and light but still pretty filling and satisfying. I’ve been enjoying it as a nutritious meal in between holiday indulgences, but it would also make a great dish to serve at a big holiday meal – it’s both vegan and gluten-free, so it’s perfect if you’re looking for something that everyone at the table can enjoy! And I didn’t think of this until after but it would look even more festive with some pomegranate seeds thrown in there!

If brussels sprouts aren’t your thing, you could try this sweet potato and kale quinoa salad I made around this time last year – I know I’ll be making big batches of both of these over the next couple weeks!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Warm Quinoa Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Chickpeas & Cranberries

Adapted from Vegetarian Times, October 2012

Serves 3-4 as a main dish

Ingredients:

1-1/4 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1-1/2 cups water

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

2/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1-1/2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475°F.  Toss brussels sprouts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until browned and tender, tossing once.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add quinoa, cover, reduce heat to simmer and let simmer 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes, covered, then fluff with a fork.

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Taste and adjust any amounts to your liking.  Note that this makes a small amount (just enough) of dressing because I don’t like to add too much to my quinoa, but if you like more dressing you can double the ingredients and use as much as you like.

Mix together the quinoa, brussels sprouts, walnuts, cranberries, and chickpeas.  Drizzle the dressing overtop and toss.  Serve warm.

Onion Flowers

When I saw these onion flowers in LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, I knew I had to make them. They were so pretty and I’d never seen anything like them before, but they sounded so easy to make! Growing up, I always hated onions with a passion, but now I’ve learned that onions can actually be quite sweet and delicious - but only when cooked, I still pick out raw onions!

These flowers are made by simply slicing an onion into eighths, without cutting all the way through the onion so that it stays intact on the bottom, but the ‘petals’ fall down when baking to create a beautiful flower shape. The other ingredients are basic – just olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper – but the roasting gives the onions a really nice flavour, too!

I admit that the first time I made these, I wasn’t completely successful – all of the petals fell down without anything remaining upright in the center, which is really what gives these a flower-like look. But I realized that my mistake was slicing a little off both ends of the onions. What you should do is slice a bit off the root end of the onion so that it can stay in place, but leave the stem end intact (see the helpful diagrams at the Soup Addict if you need help determining which end is the root and which is the stem!).

There are also some helpful step-by-step photos on making these at The Project Table if you need help after reading the recipe, and there’s also a Youtube video with video instructions! (but notice how one of the onions in that video has a bit too much sliced off the top, and that one didn’t turn out as well after baking)

As you can tell from the pictures, I tried making these with both red and yellow onions, and while I liked the taste of both, I do think the red onions look a little prettier! If you want to have a mix of colours at the table though, try using a few yellow onions in addition to red!

Once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll realize that these are really easy to make, and they make for an elegant side dish to serve at a special gathering or holiday meal.  I realize that it’s probably too late for my American friends to incorporate these into their Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but there are still plenty of holiday meals coming up, or you can make them any other time you want to impress your family or guests!

And while us Canadians have already celebrated Thanksgiving long ago, I’d just like to wish my American readers a very happy (and tasty!) Thanksgiving!

Recipe and Instructions can be found at the LCBO's Food & Drink website.  

I followed the directions exactly, but I added extra balsamic vinegar before serving and omitted the capers because I didn't have any.
Also, you may need to pull the 'petals' apart a little after baking to make them more flower-like! 
One more note is that while it's best to serve the onions whole for presentation, your guests may want to divide them in half at the table, as a whole onion may be a lot for some people to eat!

Eggplant & Zucchini Involtini with Ricotta Filling and Tomato Sauce

What is involtini you ask?  Good question, and one that even after much Googling, I’m not 100% sure I know the correct answer to.

You see, involtini are little roll-ups common in Italian cooking, that are usually made of a thin slice of meat rolled around a filling and baked with a sauce, but can also be made vegetarian using eggplant instead of meat.  The confusion lies in the fact that ‘rollatini’ seems to have the same definition.  According to Wikipedia, rollatini and involtini are actually the same thing – the dish is called involtini in Italy but over here it’s called rollatini.  That seems to clear things up except that rollatini recipes seem to more often be made with eggplant and that eggplant also seems to often be breaded.

And now I’ve gone ahead and made things even more confusing for you by throwing zucchini into the mix!  I rolled up thin slices of eggplant and zucchini around a seasoned ricotta filling, then baked them in an easy homemade tomato sauce topped with parmesan cheese.  They’re comforting and warm while being light and summery at the same time, with flavours reminiscent of eggplant parmesan or lasagna.  Whether or not this should be named involtini or rollatini may be up for debate, but I don’t care because all I know for sure is that they’re really tasty!

I couldn’t decide which I liked better.  This was the eggplant roll-up – a bit more classic and comforting tasting:

And the zucchini version is pictured below – it was more fresh and light tasting and looked a little prettier! 

Have you heard of involtini/rollatini before?  I'm curious to hear what you call it!

Eggplant & Zucchini Involtini with Ricotta Filling and Easy Tomato Sauce

Adapted from Cooking Light and The Fig Tree

Serves 4 (four involtini each)

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 large zucchini

Cooking spray

Salt & Pepper

For the Tomato Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper

For the Filling:

1 large egg

300g (~10oz) light ricotta

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian seasoned breadcrumbs)

1/4 cup chopped basil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pepper

For Topping:

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Sprinkle of chopped basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil and adjust oven rack to top third of oven.  Slice the eggplant and zucchini lengthwise into thin (1/4-inch thick) slices, producing 16 slices total (8 of each, if desired).  I also sliced the skin off my eggplant slices because I'm not a big fan of the skin, but it's not necessary if you don't mind it.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Lay eggplant and zucchini slices on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Broil for about 3-5 minutes per side, flipping over before broiling the other side.

Note – with my zucchini, I just used a vegetable peeler to very thinly slice the zucchini, and didn’t bother pre-cooking it.  This resulted in a firmer texture, so if you prefer that, you can skip the broiling step for the zucchini.  I recommend broiling the eggplant though.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce by adding all ingredients (olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, balsamic, salt and pepper) to a medium saucepan, bringing to a boil, then reducing heat to a simmer and simmering for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool, then transfer to a food processor and puree.

Prepare the filling by mixing all ingredients (egg to pepper) together in a large bowl.

Reduce oven heat to 375°F.  Pour about a third of the tomato sauce into the bottom of an 8x8 glass baking dish.  Spread 2 tablespoons of ricotta mixture onto each eggplant and zucchini slice, then roll up like a jelly roll.  Place rolls seam side down into the baking dish, and top with remaining tomato sauce.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, then bake for 25 minutes.  Sprinkle with fresh chopped basil and serve.