Lentil, Grape, & Blue Cheese Arugula Salad

Now that it's officially summer, I've been craving salads for dinner a lot more, but my salads have to be interesting to keep me interested, with plenty of different textures and flavours and a good source of protein - usually either beans, quinoa, edamame, or lentils.

I saw the combo of grapes and blue cheese somewhere a while ago and have been thinking about how to use them together since.  Because lentils have a pretty earthy flavour that need brightening up from other ingredients, I figured they would make the perfect base for a salad with grapes for sweetness and the sharp flavour of blue cheese that I can't even describe because it tastes like nothing else (in a good way!)

After doing a bit of searching I found out that lentils.ca, one of my favourite resources for lentil information and recipes, had a recipe along the lines of what I was looking for, with lentils, arugula, grapes, blue cheese, and walnuts.  I followed their lead, adding apples for crunch (a necessary addition, in my opinion), using a slightly different dressing, and leaving the walnuts raw instead of candying them (though that would probably be good too; I was just lazy).

Not only did this make for a healthful meal with plenty of fiber, protein, and vitamins, but it had such a great combination of flavours and textures.  I loved how the bursts of sweet grapes and crunchy apples balanced out the sharp arugula and blue cheese along with the nutty, earthier flavours in the lentils and walnuts.

You could eat this as a main course on its own or as a side dish.  We ate some of our leftovers piled on top of whole wheat naan bread as a sort of knife-and-fork salad, which we really enjoyed.  Ryan thought this dish would have been better covered in buffalo sauce, which I strictly forbade, but considering he was willing to eat it for three meals in a row (and it was pretty inexpensive for the amount of food we got), I'd say it won him over!

Lentil, Grape, & Blue Cheese Arugula Salad

Recipe inspired by Lentils.ca

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Lentils:

4 cups water

1 cup (dry) green or brown lentils

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dressing:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 shallot, minced

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Salad:

1-1/2 cups red seedless grapes, halved

1 apple, diced (I used a gala)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted if desired

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (you could use up to 3/4 cup for a stronger blue cheese flavour)

5oz baby arugula

Directions:

Rinse lentils.  Bring water, salt, and lentils to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until lentils reach desired texture, about 15 minutes.  Drain excess water and let lentils cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, prepare dressing by whisking together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, shallot, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Add cooled lentils, grapes, apple, walnuts, and blue cheese to the arugula.  Add dressing and toss to combine.  Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.  Eat on its own as a main course or as  side courses.  It’s also good on top of naan bread!

Smoked Salmon & Avocado Egg Sandwich

As I mentioned in my last post, I got to spend several days in Seattle last week for a conference.  It was my first time there and I loved it - especially all the amazing food and west coast beer available!  I will probably do a separate post on some of the things I tried in Seattle later this week for those who are interested, so I won't get much into it here, but the one thing I ate the most of was definitely seafood! 

Without realizing it until later, I ate fish for dinner almost every night in Seattle, and even had it for breakfast one morning when I tried some bagel and lox (smoked salmon on a pumpkernickel bagel with cream cheese, red onion, and capers) in Pike Place Market.  Smoked salmon isn't something I eat too often, but I had to try it in a place that's famous for it, and it was really good!

When I returned home I had to make my own version of a smoked salmon breakfast sandwich!

It's harder to find good smoked salmon here in Southwestern Ontario compared to Seattle where it was everywhere, but I managed to find this sustainably sourced smoked wild sockeye salmon from President's Choice.  It was a bit expensive (like all salmon tends to be here), but worth it!

To make my sandwich, I replaced the cream cheese with creamy ripe avocado, left out the red onion because I don't like it, added some arugula for a fresh peppery bite, and topped the whole thing with a poached egg!

The salmon, avocado, and egg combine for a pretty rich sandwich, but I kept the portion fairly small so it wasn't overwhelming, and I found the arugula helped to balance everything out.  And obviously this isn't something I'd eat for breakfast every morning, but it made a great weekend brunch!

You could also add red onion for some crunch or capers and dill to brighten up the rich flavours, I just didn't have any on hand.  You could even leave off the egg if you want, but how can you resist that beautiful runny yolk!

Smoked Salmon & Avocado Egg Sandwich

Adapted from Cooking Light

Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 large eggs
2 slices whole grain rye bread, toasted
2 handfuls baby arugula
Salt and pepper
1 ripe avocado, sliced
1.5 to 2 oz thinly sliced smoked salmon

Directions:

To poach your eggs, heat a few inches of water in a wide saucepan. Add a splash of white vinegar (this will help the egg whites stay together). Crack your two eggs into separate small dishes. When the water is just at the point of starting to simmer (but bubbles are not breaking the surface yet), gently slide the eggs into the water. Use a spoon to nudge the egg whites closer to the yolk, turn off the heat, and let cook, covered, for 3-4 minutes. Gently remove eggs with a slotted spoon.  Smitten Kitchen and Simply Recipes both have great tutorials on poaching eggs if it's your first time!

To prepare sandwiches, add arugula and avocado to toasted bread slices, season with salt and pepper, top with smoked salmon and poached egg.  Feel free to add some chopped dill, capers, and/or red onion if you like!  Eat immediately while egg is still warm.

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.

Turkey, Avocado, & Goat Cheese Panini

Back in the good ol’ days when my mom used to make my lunch for me to bring to school, turkey sandwiches were a staple. They usually consisted of oven roasted deli turkey meat, a little mayo, lettuce, cucumber, and cheese on a bun, and I loved them so much that they continued to be a lunch staple when I first moved out and had to start making lunch for myself.

(Side note: I have the best mom who made lunches for her daughters far longer than we deserved to have them made for us – thanks mom!)

Nowadays, I like to leave myself the minimum amount of time necessary to get ready in the morning (thus maximizing sleep-time), which means there is not a lot of time to prepare a lunch.  Leftovers are key for me – I usually make big batches of dinner so I can put it in containers in the fridge and then all I have to do in the morning is grab-and-go.  And if I have no leftovers, peanut butter and jam is usually the default.

(Side note: How will I ever be able to prepare lunches for children in the future if I can’t even make lunch for myself, not to mention getting them ready for school – I have a lot of admiration for parents/caregivers!)

This means that I’d forgotten how much I love turkey sandwiches until recently, when I bought a delicious turkey, avocado, and goat cheese sandwich from a bakery for lunch. At about $7 though, I knew I could make a much cheaper version at home, so I got right to it!

Pressed between those warm slices of whole grain bread is a combination of sliced oven-roasted turkey meat, creamy ripe avocado, a handful of peppery arugula, and a spread of tangy goat cheese. The combination of ingredients makes for a memorable sandwich that’s slightly more refined than my school days version, but is still super simple to make.  

After all this talk about making lunch in the mornings, I admit that I made this particular sandwich on a weekend (so I could have time to photograph it in the light), so I was able to make it into a panini and eat it warm.  But if you're making this in the morning (unless you have a panini maker or stove at work, in which case I'm very jealous of you), you can use the same ingredients on regular bread and it will still be delicious.  I recommend trying it as a panini too though - there's no competing with a warm pressed sandwich!

Turkey, Avocado, Goat Cheese, & Arugula Panini

Makes 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of whole grain bread (I like Country Harvest flax & quinoa bread)

1 handful arugula

Half a ripe avocado, sliced

Salt & pepper

3 slices of oven-roasted deli turkey meat (more or less depending on preferences)

1-2 tablespoons goat cheese

Directions:

Layer arugula and avocado on one slice of bread and season generously with salt and pepper.  Spread goat cheese on other slice of bread and top with turkey meat.  Use desired amounts of all ingredients according to your own tastes and the size of your bread – the amounts listed in the ingredients are all suggestions.  Close your sandwich and heat in a Panini press.  If you don’t have a Panini press, you can do what I do: 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.

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.

Lemony Lentil Salad with Dill & Feta

As I mentioned in my recap of things I made and did in July, I was recently reminded of how much I love lentil salads when I tried a recipe from My New Roots.  Not only are they easy to make and highly adaptable to different flavours and ingredients, but they usually make a lot of leftovers that are great for packing filling lunches, plus they’re super healthy – lentils are low in fat and really high in protein and fiber.

So as soon as I finished all the leftovers from the last lentil salad I tried (and there were a lot of leftovers!) I immediately made a new one, and I’m going to try to keep this up as much as possible, considering I now have three giant bags of lentils in my cupboard to use up!  

While the last lentil salad I tried was heavily spiced, this time I wanted something more bright and summery.  I knew I wanted to use lemon and dill, so when I came across a recipe for a lemony lentil salad with dill and feta from Eating Well I knew I was on the right track.  Of course, I can never seem to leave a recipe alone, so I made a few changes, starting with using dry lentils instead of canned lentils (canned are still fine, but if you’re concerned about sodium then it’s best to use dry - I use them because they're cheaper and easy to cook).  I also used shallot instead of red onion, added a clove of garlic, used more cucumber and replaced the red pepper with cherry tomatoes, and for the dressing I added a bit of honey for sweetness, reduced the lemon juice (it’s still very lemony!) and reduced the olive oil from 1/3 cup down to 2 tablespoons, which was plenty of oil for me.

I loved the balance of the lemony dressing with the salty feta, along with the bright flavour of dill and the crunch of summer veggies.  I threw a handful of fresh arugula into each serving to make it more salad-like and also cut the strong lemon flavour down to just the right amount (so I recommend this step!)

I hope you guys love lentils as much as I do, and if you think you don’t, perhaps it’s time to give them another try!

Lemony Lentil Salad with Dill & Feta

Adapted from Eating Well

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups dry brown or green lentils

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon honey or agave

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-1/2 cups chopped cucumber

1 cup chopped grape or cherry tomatoes

3/4 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Arugula for serving

Directions:

Combine lentils with about 3.5 cups of water (enough to cover them by a couple of inches) in a medium or large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender (but not mushy!).  Remove from heat, drain, and rinse with cold water to cool.

While lentils are cooking, prepare dressing by whisking together the lemon juice, dill, shallot, garlic, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Slowly add the olive oil until combined. 

Toss cooled lentils with the dressing.  Mix in the cucumber, tomatoes, and desired amount of feta and toss to combine.  Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.  Serve in bowls with a big handful of arugula added to each, if desired.

Arugula Pasta Salad with Chickpeas, Veggies, and Goat Cheese

As I mentioned in my last post for this mandarin quinoa salad (which is already my most popular recipe this year – note to self: keep posting quinoa recipes!), I’ve been trying out lots of different exercise classes this term in an effort to stay active.  Last Wednesday I tried my first AquaZumba class, which was the first time I’ve taken a class in the water since my swimming lessons days as a kid.  It was kind of what I expected in that our beautiful instructor looked unfairly cool doing all her dance moves at the side of the pool while I likely looked like a floundering sea monster attempting to keep up in the water, but it was also better than I expected in that I actually had a lot of fun (and loved the fact that I could exercise without sweating)!

The success of AquaZumba has now given me the courage to try out Aqua Fit, which I’m guessing won’t be nearly as much fun.  I’m slightly dreading the idea that it might involve treading water, which I haven’t done since swimming lessons because I hated it so much.  I could never seem to keep my head above water, and the swimming instructor would always tell us our homework while we were treading water at the end of class and I would panic because my ears would be underwater so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.  But now that I'm older (and already have failing joints), I'm hoping my body will be a little more appreciative that I'm letting it work out in the water and won't fail me when it comes to the treading water part!

One of the nice things about water classes is that they make you super tired at the end of the night, giving you a good night’s sleep.  They also make you super hungry, which is where having a big batch of this pasta salad in the fridge comes in handy!

This is just an easy vegetarian dish that’s kind of like a salad, kind of like pasta, kind of like pasta salad, and kind of like pasta with salad.  With whole wheat pasta for fibre, lots of veggies for nutrients, chickpeas for protein, and some goat cheese for richness, it’s a well-balanced dish that makes for great lunches (or post water workout meals) throughout the week! 

Arugula Pasta Salad with Chickpeas, Veggies, Olives, and Goat Cheese

Loosely based on a recipe from Cooking Light

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

375g box of whole wheat penne

8 oz green beans, ends trimmed

1 pound halved cherry tomatoes, divided

4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons minced shallots

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup pitted sliced kalamata olives

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

1 (540mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 cups packed arugula

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, toss green beans and half the cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread in an even layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the dressing by whisking the remaining 3 tablespoons oil with the shallots, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, basil, and honey in a small bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine cooked pasta, roasted vegetables, remaining fresh cherry tomatoes, olives, goat cheese, and chickpeas in a large bowl.  Mix in the arugula.  Add dressing and toss to coat.  Serve warm or chill for a cold pasta salad (though I preferred it warm).  Season with additional salt and pepper and top with additional goat cheese if desired.

*Note – the pictures are missing the additional fresh cherry tomatoes; I forgot to add them until after

Roasted Spring Vegetable Salad with Arugula Pesto Vinaigrette

So I just realized that I’ve been posting a lot of salad and vegetable recipes on here lately.  Sorry if it’s getting repetitive; but now that spring veggies are available and the weather is turning warmer, I seem to crave salads a lot more often! 

I promise I'll try to post something different next week, but with the May long weekend starting tonight (for us Canadians) and all the burgers, beer, ice cream, etc., that tend to go along with it, I thought you guys wouldn’t mind if I squeezed in one more healthy salad recipe today!  (Although by that logic I guess I should be posting this after the weekend instead, but because this weekend is the unofficial start to summer, I need to squeeze in another spring recipe before it’s too late!)

This is a perfect light spring meal (or side dish) that makes the most of local produce by packing a ton of roasted veggies into an arugula salad and covering it all in a fresh arugula pesto vinaigrette.  Because arugula has a bit of a bite to it, I mellowed it out with some grated parmesan cheese which balanced everything out quite well, though I also think a creamy goat cheese could be a nice touch instead!

I hope that all my Canadian friends have a safe and happy long weekend!  I don’t have anything exciting planned, and all I’m hoping is that the weather will be nice enough to enjoy some drinks and dinner outside to kick off the summer.  Fingers crossed!

Roasted Spring Vegetable Salad with Arugula Pesto Vinaigrette

Adapted from Eating Well

Makes 2 large servings or 4 smaller servings

Ingredients:

For the Vegetables:

1 cup mini potatoes, larger ones halved into bite sized pieces

1 cup radishes, quartered or cut into similar sizes to potatoes

1 cup baby carrots

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

Salt & pepper

1 cup green beans or asparagus, ends trimmed*

For the Arugula Pesto:

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup packed arugula

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon walnuts or pine nuts

1-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Salt & pepper to taste

For the Salad:

2 cups arugula

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Toss potatoes, radishes, and carrots with 2 teaspoons of oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through.  If using green beans, drizzle them with a bit of oil and add to the pan for the last 15 minutes of cooking.  If using asparagus, drizzle with a bit of oil and add for the last 8-10 minutes of cooking. 

*Note you can use any mix of vegetables that you want, as long as you have about 4 cups of veggies total.  Just adjust the cooking times accordingly.

Meanwhile, prepare arugula pesto.  Add all ingredients for the pesto to the large bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.

Let roasted veggies cool slightly, then toss with arugula.  Add arugula pesto and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper and top with shaved or grated parmesan cheese.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Asparagus & Arugula Salad with a Poached Egg on Toast

So I really wanted to wait until local asparagus was available before I posted an asparagus recipe this Spring, but this week I finally broke down and bought some of the imported stuff from the grocery store.  I was feeling too left out because it seems like every other blogger I follow has been posting asparagus recipes for a month now, but our asparagus season in Ontario hasn’t even begun yet (though it should really soon!) 

Of course, as soon as I got home I discovered that my asparagus smelled like someone had used it as toilet paper – so gross.  Serves me right for being impatient!  I tried Googling if smelly asparagus is still edible, but the only links that came up were about smelly pee from asparagus, so I decided to just give it a good rinse and use it anyway because it still looked fine as long as I kept my nose at a proper distance!  Turned out that it was fine once cooked, but I learned my lesson and will wait for the fresh stuff before I make my next asparagus dish.

I hope I didn’t turn you off this dish talking about smelly asparagus, because it was really good - it’s light and fresh and tastes just like Spring!  Peppery arugula is tossed in a light lemon dressing, topped with asparagus that’s been roasted just long enough to soften it up a bit and deepen its flavour but still keep it crisp, followed by a poached egg with a runny yolk that makes everything creamy and delicious.  I liked this so much that I made it again the next night (stinky asparagus and all), but this time added a piece of hearty Bavarian rye toast, which made the whole thing even better.  This makes a great lunch or light dinner, but could easily be eaten for breakfast or brunch too!

I'm hoping that the market will have some local Spring veggies available this weekend (though it will more likely be the following weekend), I'm not sure I can wait much longer!

Roasted Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Poached Egg

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 1

Ingredients:

Roasted Asparagus:

Handful of asparagus stalks (desired amount for one serving)

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Arugula Salad:

2 handfuls of baby arugula

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon minced shallot

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Poached Egg:

2 tablespoons white vinegar or white wine vinegar

Dash of salt

1 large egg

Assembling:

Salt & Pepper

Freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 or 2 slices of hearty whole grain bread, toasted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus spears where they naturally break off.  Toss asparagus with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare dressing by whisking oil, lemon juice, shallot, and Dijon in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss with arugula in a small bowl.

Fill a large skillet almost to the rim with water (or fill a shallow saucepan with a couple inches of water) and bring to a gentle boil. Add vinegar and salt to water. Break egg into a small cup, then bring the edge of the cup to the water and gently tip the egg into the water.  Turn off heat, cover, and let cook for 4 minutes (or 3 minutes for a runnier yolk).  Lift the egg out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel to drain.

Transfer arugula to a plate with the toast (you can either put the arugula on top of the toast or on the side), add roasted asparagus and poached egg atop the toast, and top with parmesan and salt and pepper.

*Note: You can use 2 poached eggs instead of 1 if you want this to be more filling

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.