Paleo

Roasted Tomato and Butternut Squash Soup

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Meat Free| Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) I’ve always wanted to be that person who whips out fresh, homemade and healthy soups on the reg(ular). But, I’m not. I rarely make soup because I basically have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to creating delightful soup that fills you up for a meal without bread. The other day, though, I had so much veg to get through before I went away for the weekend that a friend recommended I make soup. Great idea! But how? I turned to my old friends Hemsley and Hemsley who showed me the light to this gorgeous, easy recipe that’s also very filling. My boyfriend described the soup: ‘if it was packaged in M&S, I would have bought it’ –which I see as a real win, since M&S do know what’s up in the world of soup!

Ingredients

  • 3 kg (6.5lb) butternut squash (I didn’t have this so I used a small pumpkin and two sweet large sweet potatoes instead!)
  • 2 kg (4lbs) fresh tomatoes or passata or 3 tins of chopped or plum tomatoes
  • 3 large onions, roughly chopped
  • 1 whole garlic bulb
  • 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
  • 4 tsp of fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 5 litres vegetable stock (more or less depending how thick you like your soups)
  • Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or flaxseed oil, to drizzle
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • Parmesan shavings (if you’re not going dairy free) and extra finely chopped rosemary leaves, to garnish (optional- if you’re feeling fancy)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C (400F)
  2. Halve the squash (or pumpkin in my case –along with sliced sweet potatoes) and fresh tomatoes, if using, and lay on one or two baking trays, flesh side up. Don’t bother removing seeds of squash (or pumpkin)! Add the chopped onion and whole garlic bulb. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the squash (or pumpkin) is tender.
  3. Gently heat the ghee (or coconut oil) in a large saucepan (big enough for all soup ingredients to be in) and fry the rosemary for a few minutes. If you’re using tinned tomatoes or passata, add them now and let the tomato sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. Add the roasted onions, roasted fresh tomatoes, if using, and any juice to the saucepan. Scoop out the squash flesh (and seeds), squeeze 6 cloves of roasted garlic out of their skins (you can use the remaining roasted garlic in sauce or dressings) and add to the pan too.
  5. Cover with broth, starting with just over litre, turn up the heat and bring to a medium simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes to let the flavours combine, adding more bone broth if it seems too thick. Blend until smooth with hand mixer and season to taste.
  6. Drizzle each bowl with EVOO or flaxseed old and ad d a few parmesan shavings and some finely chopped rosemary leaves.

Tip: I froze this soup and ate it when I was back from the weekend; it worked great!

roasted-tomato-and-butternut-squash-soup

Source | Hemsley Hemsley, ‘The Art of Eating Well’

 

Autumn Kale Salad

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Meat Free | Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) I really, really love autumn…mostly because of the rich, comforting foods of the season. The other day I needed to use up some veggies so I came up with this tasty autumn salad that was an absolute treat. I didn’t actually make it with the intention of sharing it on the blog, but it was too good not share! The ingredients are more of a guide than anything so feel free to trial some different autumn ingredients based on what you have in your fridge. Enjoy xxx

Serves 2 (as a main) or 4 (as a side)

autumn-salad-with-cabbage

Ingredients 

  • 4 handfuls of fresh kale (use spinach if you’re not a kale fan)
  • 2 large beetroots
  • Half of Roasted Honey Balsamic Cabbage Chips recipe (you can make full recipe – you just won’t likely need it all for this salad so maybe have the other half of chips as a side for dinner tomorrow?)
  • 2 tbsp of coconut oil
  • 3 sweet potatoes, sliced (butternut squash or acorn squash would also be delicious)
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 1 handful of nuts (I used slivered almonds because it’s what I had, but walnuts or pecans would be better)
  • 2 apples, sliced and diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Dressing 

  • 4 tbsp of olive oil
  • 2 tbsp of balsamic
  • 1 tbsp of honey (Skip this if you’re doing Whole30)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

  1. Preheat oven to 170C(350F).
  2. Boil beetroot until cooked (or buy pre-cooked!) –if you’ve never cooked your own beetroot, this article is quite helpful (cooking beetroot takes 20-30 minutes so I cooked a bunch, peeled them and then stored them to slice into other salads throughout the week).
  3. Bake Savoy cabbage according to Roasted Honey Balsamic Chips Recipe. 
  4. Put coconut oil, sweet potatoes and onion into baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender and a little brown around edges.
  5. To make one salad: put two handfuls of kale on plate and top with half of savoy cabbage, half of sweet potato/onion mix, one apple, nuts and a few tablespoons of dressing.

Tip: This makes an awesome packed lunch that you can prepare the night before. Kale is awesome for staying crunchy and fresh overnight –even with dressing already added!

autumn-salad

This was SO Yum….I want to be eating it again right now.

 

Salmon with Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free | Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) Back home in Wisconsin, USA, Friday is a notorious day for “Fish Fries,” which is exactly what it sounds like -a chance to eat the deep-fried fish special. In the spirit of Fishy Fridays, I thought I’d share my new favourite fish recipe that is much healthier than traditional fried fish! This Hemsley Hemsley salmon recipe is packed full of flavor with a chimichurri sauce that will surprise you in all the right ways! Enjoy!

salmon-with-chimichurri

 Ingredients for the Salmon

  • 2 salmon fillets, skin on (I used frozen fillets because they’re a bit cheaper!)
  • 1 tsp ghee or coconut oil, for crispy skin
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • Lime wedges, to serve

Ingredients for the Chimichurri Sauce

  • 3 large handfuls of fresh parsley (stalks included if you’re blending it smooth)
  • 1 small onion or shallot or 3 spring onions
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme (I did a little mix of both!)
  • A fresh green chilli or a pinch of chilli powder, to taste
  • 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F)
  2. To make the chimichurri sauce, use a knife or food process to finely chop all the ingredients together, then stir through the extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar at the last minute. Season to taste .The sauce can be blended quite chunky (traditional) or smooth, depending on your preference.
  3. Pat the salmon fillets dry, then season on both sides, rubbing the skin side with a little ghee or oil. Place in a frying pan (preferably one that can go in the oven), skin side down, and cook for a few minutes to get a crispy skin.
  4. Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 minutes or until cooked through.
  5. Serve the salmon hot with lime wedges and a big spoonful of chimichurri sauce. Alternatively, for a packed lunch, let the salmon cool, then flake and serve in a big salad with the chimichurri sauce as a dressing.

argentinean-salmon-with-chimichurri

Source | Hemsley Hemsley, ‘The Art of Eating Well’