The Spring Garden and An Easy Lemon Onion Vinaigrette Dressing

The onion seeds have sprouted and the chives are pushing up from the cold ground. Let’s use them to make an easy Lemon Onion Vinaigrette Dressing with olive oil as we welcome the flavors of spring!

At the top of March I sowed my onion seeds in trays in my basement laundry room. While it’s one of the least glamorous rooms of our house, it manages to serve us well all year. This is especially in the spring when it houses not only laundry, but also my garden seedlings, chirping chicks, and incubating chicken or goose eggs.

Spring in Minnesota is usually just a hope at the top of March, but we all cling to that hope fervently as we eagerly watch for its signs to appear – a returning robin, the melting snow, bulging maple buds, and chives pushing up from the cold ground.

Inside I beckon spring by sowing seeds into trays that will grow into plants and produce vegetables to nourish us for the year to come. It’s one of my favorite times of year. A time of hope and new life. So much anticipation of what is to come.

Last Year’s Garden

Last year was my first year growing onions from seed. They sprouted and grew for a few weeks, but then seemed stunted.

I later realized that I had purchased a very poor quality of potting soil which stunted my plants due to a lack of nutrients in the soil. Once I transplanted the onions into the garden I found that I had cilantro and dill coming up from seed in that same bed.

I had tried unsuccessfully for years to grow both of those herbs, so I was delighted to find them growing so well! I decided to let them grow…for a little while…but soon they choked out the onions and the bed became an herb bed with a few onions scattered throughout.

Growing Onions in Clusters

This year I’m giving onions from seed another try. I bought a high quality potting soil and have grand plans of keeping the weeds and volunteer herbs at bay.

I sowed my onion seeds in clusters of 4-6 seeds per cell. Rather than thinning the seeds, I’ll let them grow to maturity in these clusters. My sister-in-law has had great success with this method and I’m excited to give it another try.

It’s been a few weeks since the onion seeds sprouted and they needed to be trimmed before I plant them out in the garden this month.

As the onions grow, it’s beneficial to trim the green tops down so that the plant can put its effort into developing the onion bulb beneath the soil, rather than putting energy into growing the greens.

I trimmed a few inches off the top and gathered them into a bowl. Rather than compost them or feed them to the chicks, I brought them up to the kitchen. It was the first of the garden harvest for this year and I was excited to use them!

I decided to turn them into a simple and easy lemon onion vinaigrette dressing by mixing the onion tops with the brightness of fresh lemon, a bit of champagne vinegar, and a quality olive oil.

If you don’t have onion seeds sprouting in your basement, chives (either from your garden, someone else’s garden, or the store) work just as nicely!

The vinegar and olive oil you use will also have a large impact on the flavor profiles in your dressing. I love champagne vinegar and always keep it on hand for light dressings like this. A flavorful extra virgin olive oil adds to the brightness in the flavor as well.

There are a couple of reasons why I love making my own dressings.

• I get to choose the ingredients! This is big for me because I prefer to not have my family consume seed oils. Most dressings on the shelves use seed oils for their first ingredients. I made this dressing with organic olive oil, which is a great clean and healthy choice.
• Making dressing is VERY inexpensive compared to store bought options!
• They involve simple ingredients – olive oil and vinegar with salt and pepper are the base of many wonderful dressings!
• It’s easy! This dressing took me 5 minutes of active time to make.

Easy Lemon Onion Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon trimmings from onion seedling or chives
• zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar (I source mine champagne vinegar from Thrive Market or our local food co-op)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (I choose an organic option like this one)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (this is my favorite fine mineral salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Finely chop the onion seedlings or chives and add to a small mixing bowl or cup.
2. Zest the lemon and add to the bowl.
3. Cut the lemon in half. Squeeze the juice over your hand and into the bowl to prevent lemon seeds from falling into the bowl. Alternatively, use a citrus juicer.
4. Add the vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Whisk with a fork to combine.
6. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors of the onions steep in the oil and vinegar.
7. When ready to use, whisk the vinaigrette again before pouring over salad or desired food of choice.

I love serving this dressing over a spring salad of mixed greens and finely sliced radishes topped with soft goat cheese or feta cheese. I don’t usually dress my salads prior to serving because I don’t like to waste extra salad. However, with this recipe, I find that tossing the salad with the dressing prior to serving, rather than drizzling the dressing over the salad on a plate, allows the flavors of the dressing to really penetrate the greens.

This is one of my favorite spring salads. It’s light, bright, and packs a punch of flavor! Give it a try and let me know what you think!