Spring Onion and Goat Cheese Souffle

An adaptation of a favorite recipe for a caramelized onion souffle. I used some of the current bounty of spring onions flooding in from the garden instead of bulbing onions. The recipe needs some work, I either need to add an additional egg white or reduce the amount of onions to lighten it up. It may also help to bake it in a smaller dish to get it to rise higher. The smaller dish would also make for a more impressive presentation when served at the table. The nice thing about baking it in a larger dish is that it bakes more quickly, getting it on the table sooner which is nice because it takes quite a while to cook the onions for the base. Another thing to consider is baking it in a cast iron skillet. The flavor was great, I don't really need to tinker with that.

1 pound spring onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Sprigs of fresh thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
Salt
1/2 cup chopped parsley, measured without packing down
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup buttermilk (or milk)
1/3 cup cream
4 eggs, separated
4 ounces goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Slice the solid stalks of the onions into 1/4-inch rounds. Slice the green leafy tops of the onions into 1/2-inch long pieces. Reserve the greens separately.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Sizzle the thyme sprigs and bay leaf for a moment and then add the sliced onion stalks. Stir the onions and herbs together a few moments and then turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and starting to caramelize. This may take about 20 minutes or so, don't rush it. Don't worry about the moisture released by the onions, it will eventually cook off. If the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan that means they are about done. Stir in the sliced green onion tops and continue cooking until the greens are wilted. Add salt to taste and stir in the chopped parsley. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs (the leaves will have fallen off) and set the onion mixture aside. The onions can be cooked hours or even a day in advance.

Butter a medium sized (9-inch by 14-inch) (? cups) oval gratin dish. Preheat the oven to 450º F.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat and add the flour. Stir to combine and let the mixture cook for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the buttermilk and cream and cook a few minutes more until the mixture is thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the onion mixture. Add the goat cheese and mix well. Taste for salt and pepper and add a few scrapings of fresh nutmeg.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add half to the onion base and fold in. Fold in the remaining whites. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and bake for about 15 minutes or more for a firmer texture, until well browned.

Serve immediately.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Grilled Spring Onion Salsa

An unexpected bounty of spring onions prompted me to experiment. This very chunky salsa was one result. Allow the salsa to sit at room temperature for a few hours to allow the dried tomatoes to soften and the flavors to meld.

25 ounces fresh spring onions, grilled, thinly sliced
1 ounce dried Fiaschetto tomatoes, cut in slivers, or any dried tomatoes not packed in oil
1 teaspoon Mareko Fana pepper flakes, or other medium hot red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fish sauce (Red Boat brand is my favorite)
2 teaspoons pomegranate concentrate (aka pomegranate molasses)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 - 1/3 cup chopped parsley

Mix everything together in a non-reactive bowl. Store in the refrigerator.

Goat Cheese and Avocado Toasts
with Grilled Spring Onion Salsa

Serving ideas, spoon generously on top of...

- Goat cheese and avocado toasts
- Ricotta toasts
- Smashed beans on toasts
- White bean salad
- White beans and tuna
- Olive oil packed tuna on toasts
- Olive oil packed sardines on toasts (or without toasts)
- Pasta or rice
- Pasta or rice with shrimp or chicken
- Grilled shrimp or chicken or tuna or other seafood
- Grilled asparagus
- Grilled chard stems

Green Quinoa Pilaf

This recipe is inspired by a dish that I used to make years ago. It's based on a rice dish that is somewhat like risotto which I converted to a baked rice recipe. I'm not eating much rice anymore, especially the white rice that this recipe calls for. But Dave has fondly recalled Green Rice many times and fairly recently, so when I had the convergence of a big bag of quinoa, yet another harvest of spinach, loads of spring onions that needed to be thinned out of the onion patch, and a big bunch of bolting cilantro this dish popped into my head.  I weighed the greens as I went and rounded to the closest whole amount for the recipe, the volume measurement is what the recipe called for but I just eyeballed it. Really, the precise amount is not important, use more or less depending on what you have or what you like.

Quinoa is one of the few vegetable sources of complete protein, it has all nine essential amino acids. It's a pseudograin, meaning it's a seed that is used like a grain but technically true grains come from grasses (monocots) and quinoa comes from a broadleaf plant (dicot). But healthy eating aside, quinoa is delicious and I think it outdoes its refined polished cousin rice in this dish.

To convert it to a rice dish just substitute a like amount of white rice but increase the baking time, it may take about 45 minutes. The original recipe called for parsley instead of cilantro, substitute a like amount of parsley for the cilantro.

2 tablespoons olive oil  (about 30 ml.)
4 tablespoons butter  (about 55 g.)
4 oz./115 g. minced scallions or spring onions (about 1 cup)
2 oz./55g. minced cilantro  (about 1 cup)
8 oz./225 g. finely chopped spinach  (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 ½ cups quinoa  (9 oz./255 g.)
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 ½ cups hot chicken stock  (.35 liter)
Crescenza cheese (aka Stracchino), or Parmigiano

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter a 1 ½ to 2 quart size casserole. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and set aside. Heat the olive oil and the other 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium sized saute pan over medium heat. Saute the scallions until they soften, stir in the cilantro and then the spinach, stir until the spinach wilts. Add the quinoa, salt, and black pepper to taste, stir to incorporate into the greens. Turn the quinoa and greens mixture into the casserole, add the hot stock, drizzle with the melted butter. Cover the casserole and place it in the hot oven. Bake about 30 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed the stock and is tender.

Serve hot with thin slices of the cheese placed on top, it should get melty from the heat of the hot pilaf, if not, run it under the broiler briefly. Serve immediately.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Note: Crescenza is an oozy soft ripened cow's milk cheese that doesn’t have a rind. A generous dusting of Parmigiano would be good instead, that's what is called for in the rice version.