Asparagus with white bean dip & feta

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. I love the taste, but it also signals the start of spring and warm weather. The name even originates from the Greek word ‘asparagos’, meaning ‘to spring up’!

Asparagus is typically in season for around 8 weeks, from the end of April until the summer solstice on June 21, but the season varies a bit according to the weather. The first crop after planting can take up to 3 years, which is one reason why asparagus tends to be a little more expensive.

It’s a great veggie to add to your diet if your budget allows as asparagus is rich in minerals and vitamins A, C, K, and folic acid and is also high in fiber to keep your microbes happy. Asparagus acts as a prebiotic, feeding good bacteria in the gut. A higher fibre diet (UK Government recommends 30g per day) has been linked to weight loss (increased satiety, regular bowel movements, blood sugar regulation), reduced blood pressure, and improvement in menopausal symptoms (hot flushes, mood swings, and anxiety).

Asparagus is a good source of antioxidants like Vitamin A and Vitamin E, glutathione, and quercetin. Antioxidants may protect against cell damage by free radicals, which are highly reactive and unstable molecules produced by normal metabolic processes in the body, as well as external sources such as poor diet, smoking, alcohol, and pollution. These molecules can cause oxidative stress and inflammation, which have been linked to aging, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and cancer. Antioxidants and polyphenols in asparagus may have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body, helping to prevent chronic disease.

This dish is a great starter or side dish, but it’s also really nice for lunch with toasted sourdough.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3 for lunch with sourdough or 4 as a starter

• 230-250g asparagus (depending on bunch size)

• 20-30g pine nuts

• 100g / ½ tin cannellini beans

• ½ garlic clove, grated finely 

• Handful of parsley

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• A good pinch of sea salt

• 50-80g feta (depending how much you like)

Method

• Heat a griddle pan, or frying pan if you dont have one (you just wont get the lines). 

• Trim the woody ends off the asparagus, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and mix together. 

• Cook one side of the asparagus for about 6 mins, push the spears down with a spatula to help the black griddle marks form. Turn and repeat. 

• Remove and set to one side on a plate. 

• Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan for a few minutes until golden - dont take your eye off them or they’re burn!!

• Next blitz the beans, parsley (reserve a few leaves for serving), garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt in a small mixer until it forms a smooth paste. 

• Spoon the dip onto a serving plate, place the asparagus on top then crumble over the feta, adding the pine nuts on top along with the reserved parsley leaves.  

• Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and sea salt to serve. 

Tip

• If you are vegan, just leave off the feta and add a few more pine nuts as this dish is also lovely without the cheese.

• Pine nuts can be switched for toasted hazelnuts, almonds or sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Grilled mackerel with cumin & lemon

This makes a lovely quick, healthy dinner or even weekend lunch. Packed with Omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D, mackerel is one of the best fish that you can eat. I paired mine with a potato salad with chives and some dressed salad greens.

Ingredients

Serves 1-2

• 2 mackerel fillets

• olive oil

• 1/2 garlic clove, mashed, or chopped very finely

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin, or a pinch for each fillet

• 1 lemon

• 1/4 red chilli (optional)

• salt & pepper

  Method

• Place the mackerel fillets on some tin foil ready to go under the grill. Brush with olive oil and then a little bit of the crushed garlic, sprinkle with a pinch of cumin and squeeze over half the lemon (save the other half for after the fish is cooked).

• Cook for about 5-8 minutes depending on your grill, you might want to turn it down if the fish has already browned on top but not cooked underneath. 

• Finish with salt and pepper, plus a sprinkle of red chilli if you like it hot.

• Serve with potato salad and rocket with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Red pepper chickpeas with rose harissa

I like to make a big pan of these chickpeas as I love to eat the leftovers for lunch with feta and sourdough or a green salad. They’re a great way to up your plant-based protein if you’re cutting back on meat and I even managed to get my pescatarian legume-hating daughter to eat them on a baked potato with lots of cheddar on top. So I’m classifying them a child-friendly too!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, grated

• 1 red pepper, sliced

• 1 tsp of ground cumin

• 2 x 400g tins chickpeas

• 1 tin of cherry tomatoes

• 1 tbsp rose harissa

• 1 tsp sea salt

Method

• Heat 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a large saucepan then add the onion and fry gently for five minutes.

• Next add the red pepper and cook gently for a further 10 minutes

• Add the garlic, cooking for one minute, then the cumin, stirring well for 30 seconds. 

• Pour in the chickpeas, tomatoes and rose harissa simmering gently for 20 minutes.

• Finish by adding 1 teaspoon of salt and serve with crumbled feta, crusty sourdough and a green salad. 

Tip

• If you want to use up the rose harissa, just type it in as a search term on my site and more recipes will come up!

• Serve with any of the following: chicken, white fish, baked potato, brown rice, cheddar cheese, coconut or Greek yoghurt.

Asparagus with poached egg on sourdough

Last night was a rare occasion; husband was away and kids all fed in one way or another. I found myself starving at 8pm and looking into the fridge with despair, until I noticed the asparagus that I had bought from the local farmer's market at the weekend. I decided on a classic combo, pairing griddled asparagus with a soft poached egg on sourdough. Wow, what a dish! Very simple, very effective - my perfect mid-week dish description.

Having said this would also make a great breakfast, brunch or lunch!

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 6 asparagus spears

• 1 egg

• Fresh bread (of any variety)

• Pinch of sweet smoked paprika

• 1 tablespoon parmesan, finely grated

• Salt & pepper

Method

• Baste the asparagus in a little olive oil and heat a griddle, or frying pan if you don't have one. Place the asparagus in the pan and allow to colour on both sides. This shouldn't take much more than 4-5 minutes. 

• As the asparagus goes in the pan, bring a pan of water to boil and poach the egg; put the bread in the toaster. Everything cooks quickly, so it all have to go on together pretty much. 

• Once the toast is done, butter and put on the plate followed by the asparagus, sprinkled with a little paprika and then top with the egg. Finish with the grated parmesan and there you have one of the tastiest, quickest meals you'll ever make.

Tip

Perfect poached eggs

Ever wondered how chefs get their poached eggs into small neat looking bundles that wobble delicately on top of you toast? The trick is to to put the whole egg (still in the shell) on a spoon and place it in boiling water for 10 seconds. Then remove and crack into the water. You'll find that the small amount of heat you gave it in the shell just keeps the white together nicely, so it forms a better shape when poached. Of course if you have super fresh eggs then this isn’t necessary, but it’s a good trick to know for most standard supermarket ones!