10 Springtastic Recipes

10 healthy and delicious recipes inspired by Spring

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus With Caprese Salad

Asparagus Ingredients

6 ounces sliced prosciutto, halved horizontally
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Working one at a time, wrap halved prosciutto slice on each asparagus spear at an angle, covering the entire length of the spear. Repeat with remaining prosciutto and asparagus. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add asparagus and cook until prosciutto is crisp and asparagus is tender, about 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Salad Ingredients

1 bag Mixed salad
2 handfuls Cherry tomatoes
2 handfuls Mozzarella
1 Avocado
2tbsp Pesto
4tsbp Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt + Pepper

Directions

Chop your avocado and sprinkle on top of your salad. Follow with halved cherry tomatoes. Toss your mozzarella balls over the top. Pop your pesto, olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt + pepper into a jar. Close, and shake! Drizzle over salad and serve.

Fresh Spring Salad

Ingredients

Spring mix
avocado
dried cranberries
pomegranate seeds
red onion
feta cheese crumbled
cucumber
grape tomato

Directions

Mix, chill and serve! Super easy and healthy.

Homemade Spinach, Goat Cheese And Mozzarella Pizza

Ingredients

2 Naan flatbreads
1 tbs olive oil
4 cups of baby spinach
3 garlic cloves – minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
8 twists of black pepper from a pepper mill
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 oz goat cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbs olive oil to the frying pan. Add half the spinach to the frying pan and sauté until wilted – about 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper and the rest of the spinach to the frying pan and sauté until all is wilted – about another 2 minutes. Remove frying pan from the heat and set aside. Place flatbread pizzas on a baking sheet, pizza pan or baking stone. I used a pizza pan. Evenly spread the spinach mixture over the two flatbreads. Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan evenly over the two flatbreads. Add 5 or 6 small dollops of goat cheese evenly over each flatbread. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. After cooking for 5 minutes, turn the broiler on and broil until cheese is nicely melted and slightly brown. This only takes a minute or two so watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Italian Risotto With Mushrooms

Ingredients

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
1 to 2 pounds mushrooms
2-3 shallots, roughly diced
1½ cup Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine or cooking wine
3 tablespoons parsley or chives, chopped
½ teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, more or less to taste

Directions

In a saucepan, warm the broth over medium heat. Heat a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet to high heat. Add mushrooms to dry skillet and stir as the mushrooms release their juices. Turn heat to medium-high and continue to stir until juice starts to be absorbed and mushrooms are browned. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and continue cooking until the rest of the liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Remove mushrooms and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir in the shallots. Cook about 1 minute or until shallots begin to soften. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Return heat to medium-high and using a mug or measuring cup add between ½-3/4 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding the hot broth one scoopful at a time, stirring continuously, making sure the liquid becomes absorbed before adding more broth. When you’ve got almost all the broth added, begin turning the heat down to medium if necessary. After about 15 to 20 minutes, the rice will be al dente. Turn off the heat and stir in the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Add the butter, parsley or chives and parmesan.

Penne With Vegetables And Feta

Ingredients

1 pound penne pasta, cooked
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 cup peas
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup Feta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Add pasta to boiling water and stir. Add in the broccoli and peas. Boil all together and strain when time is up, according to pasta box. Pour pasta and vegetables back into the pot and add in spinach, olive oil, cheese and salt & pepper. Toss together and serve immediately.

Salmon And Asparagus Tart

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounces package), thawed
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced into rings
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Juice from ½ lemon
5 Tablespoons cream cheese
7-8 ounces smoked salmon slices
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Roll out the pastry to 1-inch-thick disks on a floured surface. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Toss the asparagus with 1 tbs olive oil in a bowl. Lay half of the asparagus in a neat row across the surface of the tart so the tips meet the edge. Do the same in the opposite direction with the remaining asparagus. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and some pepper. Bake until the border of the tart is deep golden and puffed and the top is lightly spotted golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let it cool. In a pan, cook the onion in 1 tbs olive oil for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, set aside to cool. Add lemon juice and cream cheese to the mixture. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the asparagus base. Add the smoked salmon on top. Sprinkle with dill on top and enjoy.

Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower (about 2 lb.), cut into florets, including tender leaves
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Toss cauliflower and 4 Tbsp. oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Meanwhile, pulse parsley, lemon juice, and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a food processor until very finely chopped; season with salt and pepper. Toss cauliflower with lemon-parsley mixture and top with lemon zest. *Lemon-parsley mixture can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Calamari Salad

Ingredients

2 lbs cleaned calamari tubes
1/2 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced (leaves too)
1/2 large red pepper, diced
2 small tomatoes, halved, seeded, diced
1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced (fronds too)
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
3 lemons, juiced
salt and pepper
pinch of crushed red pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Get a bowl and fill with cold water and ice and set aside. Start a pot of salted boiling water. Slice the calamari in 1/4″ slices. Add calamari to the boiling water and don’t go anywhere. In 45 seconds to 1 minute they will be opaque and done. They should be tender, not rubber. Taste a larger calamari at 45 seconds and determine if you should keep them on the heat for a few more seconds. You will be inclined to let them keep cooking because you might think 1 minute isn’t enough time, but it is. Drain in a colander and transfer to the ice bath immediately. Let cool. Drain cooked calamari on some paper towels. Add the next 8 ingredients and mix together. Add in the calamari and stir to combine. Drizzle about 1/4 cup olive oil and stir to coat. Taste salad to see if additional lemon or seasoning is needed. Keep chilled until served.

Spinach Salad

Ingredients

6 hard boiled eggs
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 pound maple-flavored bacon
10 ounces fresh baby spinach
8 ounce package of button mushrooms, sliced very thin
1 small red onion (half chopped and half thinly sliced, divided)
½ cup white balsamic vinegar
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup water
½ cup feta cheese crumbles

Directions

Slice eggs into about 4-5 slices per egg. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels and crumble or rough chop and set aside. Reserve two tablespoons of the bacon fat and discard the rest. Heat the bacon fat over medium heat and sauté the chopped red onion until translucent, about five minutes. Add the white balsamic vinegar and scrape down pan of any brown bits. Add sugar, mustard and water and stir to combine. Remove from heat until ready to serve. In one large bowl layer all ingredients or in six individual serving bowls, divide ingredients between each. (Spinach, sliced red onion, sliced mushroom, sliced cooked eggs, feta and crisp crumpled bacon) To serve, heat dressing to hot and serve over salad or on the side.

Stuffed Artichoke

Ingredients

2 large, washed and dried artichokes (about 1-pound each)
Juice of 3 lemons, divided (about ½ cup)
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
3 tablespoons minced garlic
⅓ cup dry white wine
4 cups fresh bread crumbs
¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley
1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Fill a steamer pot with a few inches of water, and place a steamer basket on top. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer. Use a Chef’s knife to cut off about 1-inch from the top of each artichoke, and enough off of the bottom to form a nice base. Remove any especially tough outer leaves and discard them. Then use kitchen scissors to cut off the sharp tips of the leaves. Using your hands, carefully pull the leaves away from the middle of the artichoke — just enough so that you can see down to the choke. Now use a spoon to reach down and gently scrape away and discard all of the fuzz, to reveal a clean heart. (See below image.) Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice over each one. Place the artichokes, stem-end up, in the steamer basket, cover, and steam until they are almost as tender as you like them, about 20 minutes. (They’ll finish cooking in the oven.) Check for doneness by pulling off an outer leaf — it should come off fairly easily. Set them aside to cool. While the artichokes are steaming, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over low-medium heat. Let it simmer until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Pour in about ⅓ cup of lemon juice and the wine. Stir and let this simmer on low heat for about 4 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and parsley, stir to blend and remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper (here’s how), and set aside to cool. Place the artichokes, sitting on their bases, in a baking dish. Use a spoon and/or your hands to carefully fill the center of each artichoke with the stuffing — fill it to maximum capacity! Then fill all of the spaces between the leaves as much as possible. Sprinkle the top of each one with about half of the Parmesan. Place the stuffed artichokes in the preheated 375 degree F oven and bake until the breadcrumbs are golden and the cheese has melted, 15 to 20 minutes. You can serve them whole as an entrée, or slice them in half for an appetizer.