Get the new season off to the right nutritional start with these tasty recipes

Fresh & Naked rainbow salad
Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: n/a

Ingredients
For the dressing:
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 lime, juice only
1 tangerine, juice only
1 tbsp olive oil
½ shallot, finely sliced
1tsp pink peppercorns, roughly crushed

For the salad:
1 slice rye bread, sliced into cubes
6 cooked beetroot, cut into wedges
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 carrot, grated
100g mange tout, sliced
10 radishes, quartered
Large handful of Fresh & Naked rocket
small bunch of parsley

Method

In a small frying pan toast the pumpkin seeds until they start to pop.

Tip into a small bowl and add the lime and tangerine juice, oil, peppercorns, shallots and a pinch of salt.
In the same pan dry fry the rye bread until toasted on all sides.

Toss the rocket in a little dressing and lay on the plate.

Put the rest of the ingredients on top of the rocket, drizzle over the pumpkin seed dressing and finish with rye croutons.

Recipe courtesy of freshandnaked.co.uk

Great British Life: Fresh & Naked rainbow saladFresh & Naked rainbow salad (Image: Archant)
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Chicken baked with shallots, olives and thyme
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breast fillets
12 shallots, peeled
4 garlic cloves
16 good quality pitted green olives
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5.

Arrange the chicken breasts in a shallow roasting tin or baking dish.

Tuck the shallots, garlic and olives in around the chicken and place the thyme sprigs on top.

Drizzle over the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and drizzle over the sherry vinegar.

Cook for a further 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with a green salad.
Great British Life: Chicken baked with shallots, olives and thymeChicken baked with shallots, olives and thyme (Image: Archant)
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Radish and celery potato salad
Serves: 4 (as a side dish)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the salad:
500g baby or new potatoes, halved if large
150g radishes, quartered
3 sticks celery, sliced

For the dressing:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ small pack chives, finely chopped
½ small pack of parsley, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Place the potatoes into a pan of lightly salted water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender (about 10 minutes), then drain and set aside to cool.

While the potatoes cool, mix together olive oil, whole grain mustard, a dash of white wine vinegar, chopped chives and parsley in a small bowl and season to taste.

In a serving bowl combine the dressing with the cooked new potatoes, sliced radishes and celery.

Mix well and serve.

Recipe courtesy of lovecelery.co.uk
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Blanched asparagus with lemon and tahini dressing
Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
500g asparagus
4tbsp tahini
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2tbsp olive oil
1tsp runny honey
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1tbsp sesame seeds

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and blanch the asparagus for 2-3 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of ice-cold water.

In a small bowl, combine the tahini, crushed garlic, olive oil and honey and mix well. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice until emulsified. If desired, thin the sauce by adding 1tbsp water and stirring well.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan and toast until just browning. Make sure to keep moving the seeds around the pan to stop them from catching.

Once toasted, set aside to cool.

Place the asparagus on a small serving dish and drizzle over the tahini dressing then sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Recipe courtesy of britishasparagus.com

Great British Life: Blanched asparagus with lemon and tahini dressingBlanched asparagus with lemon and tahini dressing (Image: Scott Lloyd Ltd)