50 Women Game Changers in Food: #43 April Bloomfield - Roasted Red Onions with Green Pea Pesto

April Bloomfield is #43 on the list of 50 Women Game Changers in food and in my opinion she is a lady chef badass.  Her cookbook A Girl and Her Pig features April with a pig slung over her shoulder on the cover.  AND She believes in the snout to tail philosophy, only for the brave.  While I'm not that adventurous (yet, hopefully), I really admire the respect she has for great ingredients prepared simply.  I found one of her recipes for roasted red onions with sage pesto perfect for Thanksgiving.  Intrigued since caramelized onions are my favorite food, I decided to adjust the recipe for spring based on her pea and ham soup with mint.

Thus, roasted red onions with green pea pesto was born.  I combined slivered almonds, mint, basil, and thawed frozen peas with a little bit of chili powder and oil from sundried tomatoes for depth of flavor.  It was bright and a little sweet, perfectly paired with slow roasted onions and slices of sundried tomatoes on top.  Colorful and flavorful, a lovely homage to another lady game changer.

Here are the other wonderful lady bloggers following the 50 Women Game Changers:
Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden, Heather - girlichef, Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades, Mary - One Perfect Bite, Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts, Linda A - There and Back Again, Nancy - Picadillo, Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen, Annie - Most Lovely Things, Jeanette - Healthy Living
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce - More Time at the Table, Kathy - Bakeaway with Me, Martha - Simple Nourished Living, Jill - Saucy Cooks, Sarah Everything in the Kitchen Sink



Roasted Red Onions with Green Pea Pesto
Adapted from April Bloomfield
2 large red onions
2 tablespoons of olive oil
5 sundried tomatoes, sliced thinly to top
salt and pepper

1 cup frozen peas, thawed and patted dry
1/2 slivered almonds
1/2 cup packed mint leaves
1/4 cup packed basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sundried tomato oil

Preheat the oven to 425.  Slice the red onions in half then in four equal wedges on each half.

Spread out on a foil lined baking sheet, season liberally with salt and pepper, and cover in the olive oil.

Roast for about 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan and stirring up the onions about halfway through the cooking time.

While the onions are roasting, prepare the pesto.  In your food processor, combine the almonds, herbs, garlic, and peas.  Drizzle in the olive oil and sundried tomato oil.

Assemble the roasted red onions and top with the sliced sundried tomato, green pea pesto, and some freshly cracked pepper.  Enjoy!