Caramelized Onion and Potato Soup

And just when we thought the worst of the cold weather was over, it came back this week to give us a reminder of why summer is so great!

I'd almost forgotten already what it feels like when your nostrils start to freeze up as soon as you step outside and your lungs hurt when you breathe in the cold air.  Needless to say, I'll be spending as much time indoors as possible this week and enjoying lots of hot chocolate and soup!

I've actually been making a lot more soup than normal lately, not just because of the weather but because I received an immersion blender for Christmas that I've loved trying out!  It makes pureeing soups so much easier than transferring it in batches to a blender, and more importantly it means a lot less dishes to clean up after, which is probably my favourite thing about it.

I have my eye on so many soup recipes I want to try now, but onion soup has stood out as the most comforting option lately, and it was an excellent choice!

This caramelized onion and potato soup is very similar to a French onion soup, but easier and faster to prepare, and perhaps a little bit healthier.  I didn't cook my onions quite as long as you would for a French onion soup - just long enough to give them that deep golden brown colour and rich flavour - and I also cooked them in just a bit of olive oil instead of tons of butter.  The other  main differences are that this version contains some garlic for flavour and potatoes for thickness, and that I pureed it all into a smooth soup (though next time I'll probably leave a few chunks in there for texture - I just got carried away with my immersion blender!).  Then I topped it with a simple piece of toasted whole grain bread with some melted cheese instead of baking the whole thing in the oven (with a lot more cheese).

You end up with a rich but light tasting soup that's perfect for a cozy winter evening indoors!

Caramelized Onion & Potato Soup

Adapted from different recipes found on Whole Living, Yankee Magazine, and Bon Appetit

Serves around 4 as main course servings; 8 as smaller side dish servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil

6 medium yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced into half moons (or 3-4 large onions)

4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

8 cups (2L) low sodium beef broth

1-1/2 to 2 cups chopped yellow potatoes

2 bay leafs

2 sprigs of thyme

4-7 slices thick rustic whole grain bread

4-8 slices gruyere, swiss, or provolone cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic, stir to coat with oil, and let sit for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper and stir.  Cook for an additional 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and caramelized with a deep golden brown colour.  (Cook for up to 45 minutes if needed).  Add vinegar to deglaze the pan.  Add wine and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Let simmer until reduced slightly, about 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over onions and stir.

Add beef broth, potatoes, thyme, and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are softened.  Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.  If desired, puree soup with an immersion blender or by transferring in batches to a blender.  You may puree all of the soup if you want it to be smooth, part of the soup for some texture, or none if you want it to be chunky, depending on what you prefer.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat broiler.  Arrange cheese on bread and broil until cheese is melted, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Serve alongside or on top of soup.

Salmon Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Avocado

I never used to get a lot of colds other than the usual back-to-school cold that seems unavoidable and the odd winter cold, but in the past couple of years I feel like I have been getting sick ALL THE TIME.  I can’t even count the number of colds I’ve had in the past year or the amount of cold medicine I’ve had to buy.  And I'm once again sick this week, despite the fact that it’s summer and I don’t know anyone else that has a cold right now.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong – I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise, take vitamins, and wash my hands regularly – so if you have any good tips for keeping viruses away, I’m all ears!

In the meantime, I’m taking even more vitamins, along with Echinacea and zinc lozenges, and just the other day I bought oil of oregano, which a couple people I know swear by for preventing colds (though I’m a little late for that at this stage!)

I’m also squeezing even more vitamins into my meals, like this salmon spinach salad with strawberries and avocado.  Though the combination of ingredients may seem a little strange, they all work really well together and are very nutritious, making this sort of like a superfood salad!  Spinach has plenty of antioxidants, iron, calcium, and vitamins; strawberries provide lots of Vitamin C, as well as fiber, antioxidants, and other good things; and while avocados and salmon are high in fat, it’s the good kind of fat (that can lower your bad cholesterol and increase your good cholesterol), plus avocados are rich in potassium, fiber, folic acid, and Vitamin K, and salmon is full of protein, omega-3s, and Vitamins B and D.  Even the dressing is healthful from the addition of lime juice, shallot, and poppy seeds.

Bottom line: this salad is good for you, easy to make, tastes great, and will fill you up, making it a great summertime meal (whether you’re prone to colds or not!)

Salmon Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Avocado

Makes 2 main course servings

Ingredients:

2 (5oz each) salmon fillets (preferably wild)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Salt & Pepper

~4 cups baby spinach*

1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries

1 ripe avocado, cubed

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Place each salmon fillet skin side down on a piece of aluminum foil (on a baking sheet).  Rub each fillet with the olive oil and lime juice and season with salt and pepper.  Wrap each fillet with foil to form two packets.  Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until cooked through.  Be very careful opening packets after as hot steam will be released.  Let salmon cool slightly.

Meanwhile, add spinach, strawberries, and avocado to a large bowl, and prepare dressing by whisking together the oil, lime juice, vinegar, honey, shallot, and poppy seeds.  Toss salad with the dressing, then divide among two plates or bowls.  Place each cooked salmon fillet on top of each salad and serve.

*Note: I used regular spinach from the market (pictured) but I think baby spinach works better (as written in the recipe).

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.

Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans with Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous in Southern Ontario lately and I am loving everything about it (except how hard it is to get work done when you know how nice it is outside)!  This past weekend I wore shorts out for the first time this year, the farmer's market was outdoors and even had some local produce available, and I spent some time in the park reading and taking pictures of the beautiful flowers that the April showers brought!

I also made some delicious meals with the veggies and cheese I bought at the market, my favourite of which being this twist on a potato salad.

I was never a big fan of potato salads growing up because I usually had the cold, mayonnaise-covered versions, but warm potato salad is a totally different story.  I love this warm dijon roasted asparagus & potato salad, and but this green bean, caramelized onion, and blue cheese version might be even better!  In this dish, mini potatoes get roasted with green beans until they're both nice and browned up, while onions caramelize on the stovetop at the same time.  Then they get mixed together, tossed in a blue cheese dressing, and sprinkled with green onions and a little more blue cheese for good measure.  Needless to say, you have to like blue cheese to appreciate this dish!

I don't know when potato salad stops being a salad and starts being just roasted potatoes, but whatever you call this, it's so good - you just have to get past the somewhat boring colours that made it hard to look good in photos!  This would be a great side dish to go with steak or burgers this summer, but I liked it so much I just ate it on its own!

Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans with Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese

Adapted from Eating Well

Serves about 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds mini potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half (I used a mix of red, white, and blue potatoes)

8 ounces green beans, ends trimmed

5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

Salt & pepper

2 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

Additional blue cheese and sliced green onions for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Toss potatoes and green beans with 2 teaspoons oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring once, until tender and golden brown.

Caramelize your onions at the same time that the potatoes are roasting.  Heat 2 teaspoons olive 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 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 (though I like the burnt bits in this potato salad!) 

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, Dijon, blue cheese, and 1 teaspoon oil in a small bowl.

When onions and potatoes are both done, combine them in a bowl and add dressing while warm.  Toss to coat.  Serve warm, topped with additional crumbled blue cheese and chopped green onions or chives, if desired.

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad with Citrus Dressing

As I mentioned in my last post, we had our annual cookie swap at school this week. This meant a full day of me baking cookies (and taste testing them approximately 26830 times to make sure they were good), followed by a full day of me eating everyone else's creations. And after consuming what seemed like at least my body weight in cookies, I was craving fruit and vegetables like crazy! I don't know if this happens to you guys, but if I eat too much junk in a day, my body practically screams for something healthy and I can't bare the thought of eating anything other than apples the rest of the day.

This salad was a little fancier than apples but still satisfied my craving for something fresh and healthy perfectly, with the bonus of being winter-appropriate and also incredibly tasty! Mixed greens are topped with roasted beets and oranges, tossed with some toasted walnuts and crumbled goat cheese, and finished with a sweet citrus reduction dressing. While it may be a little more time-consuming to make than most salads (considering the roasting time for the beets), it's still really easy to make and elegant enough to serve to guests during the holidays (though eating it all to yourself to help counteract the effects of cookie overload is highly encouraged).

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad with Citrus Dressing

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 4-8, depending on the serving size

Ingredients:

4-5 medium or 10-12 small beets (red, golden, or both)

3/4 cup fresh orange juice (from about 3-4 oranges)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon minced shallots

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 cups mixed salad greens

2 oranges, segmented

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Scrub beets and place whole on foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for about 1 hour, until tender. Let cool slightly, trim off roots and stems, peel off skins, and cut into small wedges.

While beets are cooking, bring orange juice and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Let simmer about 10 minutes or until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Pour into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Add shallots, vinegar, salt, and pepper and stir with a whisk. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly.

Arrange salad by dividing mixed greens among plates, topping with beets and segmented oranges, then sprinkling with about 1 tablespoon each walnuts, dressing, and goat cheese per salad.