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Writer's pictureFelicity Vincent

Spring Green Salad & Seed Crackers

Updated: Aug 1

Spring greens, spicy creamy pea dip and crunchy seed crackers for the ultimate nutritious salad.

I'm wholeheartedly against boring salads! Salads are one of my favourite dishes because there's so much opportunity to have fun with them. This green salad is full of healthy nutritious goodness but also lots of different flavours and textures.

Spring green salad with pea dip and seed crackers

 
Ingredients (serves 4):

Seed Crackers:
  • 3 egg whites

  • 1 Tbs EVOO

  • 3g salt

  • 50g chia seed

  • 250g mixed seeds


Spicy Pea Dip:
  • 210g peas

  • 130g green olives

  • 2 Tbs olive brine

  • 2 pickled chilli peppers

  • 20g almonds

  • 40g cream cheese


Vinaigrette:
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard

  • 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

  • 1 Tbs EVOO


Spring Green Salad:
  • 100g purple sprouting broccoli (or spring cabbage)

  • 80g green asparagus

  • 125g watercress

  • 1 baby gem lettuce

  • 1 handful of peas

 
Method:

Make the seed crackers:
  1. Preheat the oven at 180°C

  2. Separate the egg whites from the yolk. (Save the yolks in the freezer to make custard desserts.)

  3. Add the EVOO and salt to the egg whites and whisk until they are white and foamy.

  4. Pour in the seeds and stir until combined. Leave to sit for 10 minutes then stir again.

  5. Pour the mixture onto a lined baking sheet, thin it out with a spatula so it is even and around 1-2cm thick.

  6. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown all over.

  7. Leave to cool down on a wire rack then break into smaller cracker sized pieces.


Make the pea dip:
  1. If using fresh peas, blanch them for 2 minutes in boiling salted water then rinse in cold water. If using frozen peas, thaw in some water in the microwave for 1 minute.

  2. Put all the ingredients, aside from the cream cheese, in a food processor and blend until smooth.

  3. Add the cream cheese and stir it in until combined. Taste to adjust seasoning if needed.


Make the vinaigrette:
  1. Whisk together all the ingredients in a large bowl until the vinaigrette has emulsified.


Assemble the salad:
  1. Cut the purple sprouting broccoli or spring cabbage into bite sized pieces and cook in salted boiling water for 5 minutes before draining and running under cold water (this will keep the green colour bright).

  2. Cut off the woody ends of the green asparagus (about 1 inch off the bottom) and slice the remaining spears thinly on the bias (at a slight angle).

  3. Wash and thinly slice the baby gem lettuce.

  4. Wash the watercress.

  5. If using frozen peas, thaw them out in the microwave, or use raw peas if they are very fresh.

  6. Assemble all the green salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss together with the vinaigrette.

  7. Plate up with the dip and crackers and enjoy, bon appétit!


 
More about this recipe:

This salad is light and fresh yet still full of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. It's perfect for a sunny day.

The mixed seeds, egg whites and peas are a great source of protein while also providing a mix of satisfying textures. The seeds and greens also bring in a healthy dose of fibre.

Finally, all the greens in this recipe make it a great addition to a happy lifestyle as they contain:

Folate - not having enough folate increases the chance of feeling depressed.

Vitamin C - involved in converting dopamine to noradrenaline - low amounts of noradrenaline are associated with depression.

Iron and calcium - involved in converting tryptophan to serotonin one of the good mood hormones.


 
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