Egg Salad with Wholewheat Croutons and Salsa Verde

This spring salad is really a WINNER. So simple and quick to prepare with easy to obtain ingredients and so delicious. I use salsa verde for the salad as I have some ready in the fridge, but a herb vinaigrette, or honey and mustard dressing would be great as well.

Salsa Verde	Salad
3 tbsp Olive oil 2 tbsp Parsley , roughly chopped 2 tbsp Basil, roughly chopped 1 tbsp Capers, drained and rinsed 1 clove Garlic, minced 1 tsp Dijon mustard 2 Anchovies 1 Lemon, zested and juiced Salt and black pepper to taste	2 Eggs, hard-boiled 1 handful Baby greens 6 Cherry radishes, each cut into 6 wedges 1 tbsp Finely chopped parsley 1-2 tbsp Olive oil Some wholewheat bread, cut into inch dices

1. Put olive oil, the herbs, capers, garlic, mustard, anchovies, lemon zest, and the lemon juice in a food processor. Blend until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper. Chill until ready for use.


2. Place the eggs in a small pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for 5-8 minutes, depending on the desired doneness. Drain, rinse in cold water until cold enough to handle.


3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add in diced bread and toast until they are lightly browned and crunchy.


4. Divide the baby greens and cherry radish wedges into two serving plates. Peel eggs. Coat each with chopped parsley and slice into half. Arrange them on the serving plates. Spoon some prepared salsa verde over and scatter the croutons over. Drizzle with a bit of balsamic cream if desired.

Looking for more healthy salad recipes, check out Best Health today.

Ramsons Pesto with Wholewheat Spaghetti

Ramsons is also known as "wild garlic" due to its pungent garlic odour, or "bear's garlic" as the brown bears after hibernation, seek it out to cleanse their system. Ramsons has similar medicinal properties to those of the garlic. It is therefore especially valuable for a spring cleaning and waste removal course of treatment. They can be used as salad, as a vegetable, in soup, or as an ingredient for pesto in lieu of basil.

	Ramsons Pesto
250 g Wholewheat spaghetti 10 Cherry tomatoes, halved 10 Bocconcini, optional A handful of baby greens Freshly ground black pepper	80 g Ramsons leaves, chopped 60 g Almond, chopped 80 g Parmesan-Reggiano, grated 130 ml Olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Add only enough chopped almonds to the skillet so they lie in a single layer. Turn heat on to medium and toast, stirring occasionally until the nuts are fragrant. Remove from heat and cool.
   
2. Rinse, dry and chop the ramsons. In a food processor, pulse toasted almonds and ramsons a few times. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on, stopping to scrape down sides of container. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If you have a mortar and pestle, do use them to pound the ingredients.
   
3. To store the pesto, simply place them in a jar and allow the oil to rise to the top. If it doesn't add a little oil to seal the top. It will keep fresh in the refrigerator for about a week.
   
4. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain in colander and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add in pesto (about 1/2 cup) and gently toss to coat thoroughly. If pesto is too thick, you can add a tablespoon of the pasta water to thin it a little.
   
5. When pesto is mixed in, add cherry tomatoes, bocconcini if used, baby greens and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Rhubarb Streusel Cake

A delicious tea time cake/tart with a tangy rhubarb filling topped with nutty and buttery streusel. Serve it warm, if desired, with ice cream or vanilla sauce.

Cake	Streusel Topping
150 g Flour 50 g Sugar 1 pinch Salt 1 Egg yolk 75 g Butter, diced 1 tbsp Cold water 500 g Rhubarb 70 g Ladyfingers, crumbled 50 g Brown sugar	100 g Flour 100 g Almond, ground 100 g Sugar 1/3 tsp Nutmeg powder 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder 150 g Butter, diced

1. To prepare the base. Place flour, sugar, salt, egg yolk, butter and cold water in a mixing bowl. Stir with a hand mixer attached with dough hooks until the mixture comes together. Form it into a ball and chill, wrapped with a cling film, for 30 minutes.
   
2. Clean and trim rhubarb, removing any leaves. Cut the rhubarb stalks into 1cm pieces. Crush the ladyfingers until fine crumbs form. In a mixing bowl, mix together 100 grams sugar, flour, ground almond, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cut in butter to form crumbs. Chill, covered, until ready to use.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Butter a 26cm tart dish or line with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a 32cm round between two sheets of parchment paper and place it into the tart dish. Sprinkle the crumbled ladyfingers at the bottom of the tart, scatter over the rhubarb pieces, and then sprinkle on brown sugar evenly. Now cover it with streusel topping. Bake in the middle of hot oven for 45 minutes until nicely golden brown.

Spice Crusted Cod Fillets with Zucchini Salad

Mild flavoured and low fat filleted cod fish nicely crusted with a blend of ground coriander, cumin and garlic salt, and then seared to medium (or to your desire), served with yoghurt dressing and lemon wedges on a bed of zucchini salad.

	Zucchini Salad
1 tsp Ground coriander 1 tsp Ground cumin 1/2 tsp Sweet paprika 1/2 tsp Garlic salt 3-4 (about 150 g each) Cod fillets(or any white fish) 1 tbsp Corn oil Lemon wedges, to serve Some yoghurt dressing, to serve	180 g Green zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1cm pieces 1 tbsp Red onion, finely chopped 1 Tomato, halved, deseeded, cut into 1cm pieces 1 tbsp Finely chopped fresh mint 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine ground coriander, cumin, paprika and garlic salt in a small bowl. Rub over fish fillets. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
   
2. To make the zucchini salad, combine zucchini, onion, tomato, mint, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice in a salad bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
   
3. Heat the corn oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in fish fillets and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until nicely golden brown.
   
4. Spoon zucchini salad among 2-3 serving plates. Top with cod fish and drizzle with dressing. Serve with lemon wedges.

Scrambled Eggs with Green Asparagus and Parmesan

A simple twist to typical scrambled eggs. The additions of asparagus offers a good source of vitamin, dietary fiber and protein. I had it for the weekend lunch served with rye crackers, but it is as delicious as for breakfast. If you prefer your scrambled eggs moist and creamy, then cook them over low flame.

• 250 g Green asparagus
  
• 2 Eggs, large
  
• 2 tbsp Milk
  
• 20 g Parmesan, grated
  
• 1 tbsp Chives (or spring onion), chopped
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 10 g Butter
  
• 1-2 slice Rye bread or pumpernickel
  
• 1 tbsp Sour Cream
  

1. Clean and trim the asparagus. Discard the woody ends and cut asparagus into 2-inch lengths.
   
2. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl. Add in milk, grated Parmesan, chopped chives, salt and pepper. Beat the egg mixture with a whisk until all the ingredients are completely blended together.
   
3. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add in the asparagus and stir fry for about 4-5 minutes. Pour in the egg mixture and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes until set or to your liking. Turn the egg on the bread and serve with sour cream.

Avocado and Gorgonzola Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette

Creamy avocado, pungent blue cheese, sweet onions, and juicy tomatoes. This is one of my favorite salads to throw together. Dried fruits, like cherry or cranberry, and toasted nuts could also be added to create a wonderful salad with variety of textures and flavours.

Parmesan Vinaigrette	Salad
100 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil 45 g Fresh Parmesan cheese, grated 1 tbsp White wine vinegar 2 tbsp Plain yogurt 1 tsp Dried thyme 1 tsp Dijon mustard Salt and black pepper, to taste	50 g Field salad leaves 1 Avocado, peeled and diced 80 g Gorgonzola cheese, diced 1 Carrot, peeled and thinly shredded 1/2 Red onion, sliced 1 Tomato, cut into wedges Some dried cherries

1. Whisk all ingredients until creamy and smooth. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
   
2. In a large bowl, place field salad leaves, diced avocado, Gorgonzola, shredded carrot, red onion and tomato wedges. Drizzle with Parmesan vinaigrette and toss gently. Divide the salad in two serving plates, then sprinkle the dried cherries over.

Last, but not the least, I want to thank two lovely ladies, Eva at DAILY DOSES OF SUGAR, and Parsley Sage from The Deep Dish for passing two wonderful blog awards to me. Thank you!

Chocolate Glazed Tart with Pistachios

A crisp yet crumbly chocolate shortbread crust filled with a layer of rich chocolate glaze and finished off with some chopped lightly salted roasted pistachios---an unbeatable combination for an unforgettable sweet treat!

Shortbread	Topping
120 g Butter, at room temperature 60 g Golden caster sugar Pinch of salt 130 g Plain flour 20 g Cocoa powder	120 g Bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1 tbsp Maple syrup 20 g Butter 100 ml Heavy cream Some lightly salted roasted pistachios, roughly chopped Caramelized walnuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Put the butter into a large mixing bowl, and beat with a wooden spoon until soft. Beat in the sugar and salt. Sift over the flour and cocoa powder and mix just until a dough forms.
   
2. Divide the shortbread dough into four portions and press each in an even layer onto the bottom of four 12cm/4inch tart pans or one 26cm/10inch. Bake for about 20 minutes, or just until the they are firm to the touch.
   
3. Meanwhile, melt the chopped chocolate, maple syrup, butter and heavy cream in a stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Mix until smooth.
   
4. Remove the shortbread from the oven and pour the warm chocolate glaze over the shortbread crusts and evenly spread the surface. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios or caramelized walnuts. They can be stored in container at room temperature for a few days.

Chickpea Salad with Cumin

In this wonderful healthy salad, chickpeas are first cooked in salt cumin water, that makes them more digestible as well as adding a nutty and peppery flavours to the chickpeas. The chickpeas are then dressed in a spicy vinaigrette.

• 250 g Dried chickpeas
  
• 1/3 tsp Cumin seeds
  
• 1/2 tsp Salt
  
• 1-2 tsp Ground cumin
  
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
  
• 1/3 tsp Chilli powder
  
• 1-2 tbsp Fresh lime juice
  
• 2 tbsp Parsley, finely chopped
  
• 2-3 tbsp Walnut oil

1. Place the chickpeas in a bowl and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Soak the chickpeas for 4 hours or overnight. Drain the chickpeas and discard the soaking water.
   
2. Add the chickpeas, salt, cumin seeds and water to the pressure cooker so that the cooker is no more than one-third full. Lock the lid onto the pressure cooker and activate the desired program setting. Allow pressure to be fully released before removing the lid.
   
3. Drain the chickpeas and place in a large bowl. Add the ground cumin , minced garlic, chilli powder, lime juice, chopped parsley, walnut oil, and salt to taste. Toss well. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes at room temperature. Check the seasoning and add more salt or lime juice if needed. You can serve the chickpeas mounded on some lettuce leaves if desired.

Fresh Fruit Tartlets

Those mini fresh fruit tartlets have a sweet pastry crust that is filled with a rich hazelnut cream and topped with fresh fruit. Dust the fruit with powdered sugar before serving or glaze with apricot glaze to give the fruit a bright shiny finish.

Sweet Pastry Crust	Topping
250 g Pastry flour 60 g Caster sugar 1/4 tsp Salt 125 g Butter, cut into small pieces 1 Egg yolk 2-3 tbsp Cold water	85 g Butter, softened 85 g Powdered sugar 1 Egg 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 85 g Ground hazelnut 8 tbsp Chantilly cream Seedless grapes Strawberries Powdered sugar

1. Heap the flour on a work surface and make a well. Put in butter, salt, sugar, and egg yolk. Using your fingertips, mix all the ingredients together. Add in cold water and work until the dough begins to hold together. Shape each into a ball and wrap with a plastic film and chill for half an hour.
   
2. Cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer in the bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the ground hazelnut and beat until it forms a smooth paste. Set aside.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease four 12cm tartlet tins with butter and sprinkle them lightly with flour. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and divide into four equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of pastry into a 16cm circle. Line the tins with pastry and prick several times with a fork.
   
4. Divide the hazelnut mixture into 4 pastry cases and smooth the top. Put the tart tins on the hot baking tray and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Lift the tart and base from the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool completely.
   
5. Spread two tablespoons of chantilly cream on top of each tartlet. Arrange the fruit on top. If desired, dust with powdered sugar before serving.