Scrumptiuous Spring: Lighter Dishes You Will Salivate Over

Joy of joys, springtime is here and we can finally enjoy fresh produce returning to our shops. Nothing beats a ripe apple to go with your morning granola. Hardly anything can touch the delight of fresh peach, cut up into your salad or better yet, vanilla ice cream bowl. There’s something so amazing about spring, that when it comes to food, we naturally decide to eat healthier. The temperatures have risen and that makes us feel a little more bloated when we eat heavier food. The whole family wants to eat a meal together and then, lounge around in the patio or lounge room, to watch the sunset. These are some of the dishes that you will salivate over and race to the kitchen, to make yourself.

Cheese and onion quiche

Perhaps the most iconic springtime dish of all time is the quiche. Light, fluffy, buttery and yet, goes well with incredibly fresh produce. The most basic recipe is cheese and onion, but once you get a little bit of experience, you can add vegetables to this dish without issue.

You can make the pastry at home, very easily. What you need is around 300g of plain flour. Make sure to run it through a sieve a couple of times to get rid of the lumps. Then you must add around 150g of cold butter. It should be taken straight from the fridge and immediately mixed into the flour. Use cold water to bind the ingredients together. After you’ve rolled out the pastry, lie it over the dish and cut it according to the shape and size of your quiche dish. Then, put it back in the fridge to harden.

Get around 500g of white onions, cut them up finely so you have a semi-paste. Beat 2 eggs (with the yolks) and gently add cream. It can be double cream if you want the quiche to be thicker. Get 150g of grated mature cheddar; English cheddar is recommended. Then stir half the onions and cheese into the mixture before pouring it into the quiche dish. Then place the rest of the cheese and onions on top. Bake for around 20-25 minutes at 180C and you’re done! You can top with cherry tomatoes, sliced bell peppers and even courgettes if you want.

An Italian twist

So you’ve heard about garlic bread, right? Everyone has; but what about garlic butter baked chicken thighs? It’s the same principle with regard to flavor and ingredients, except with an Italian twist to white meat. What you’ll need is four tablespoons of butter. Then add four minced garlic cloves. You can do this by slicing finely, then using some salt to fine crush the garlic into a paste. Add a quarter teaspoon of paprika, salt and then crack some fresh black pepper into the mix. Fresh lemon will bring the spice and garlic out and add a layer of intense flavor to the dish. Smear the garlic butter paste over the chicken and gently massage it into any slits you have made on the skin.

Preheat the oven to 400F and you’ll add the chicken thighs for around half an hour; or until slightly golden brown. Add any extra garlic butter paste you have left to the thighs as they cook. You only need to do this once and it should be a very light layer. This is a dish you can enjoy in alfresco dinings, such as outside on the patio with your family or as an early evening dinner.

A classic Med snack

The best springtime dishes are almost always from the Mediterranean. This rich culture has given the world one of the best snacks ever. Simply buy or make some incredible hummus side dishes to go with your grilled or oven-baked falafel balls. You can also have tzatziki sauce or paste, which is very popular in Turkey and Greece. There’s no secret to this snack, just simply dip the falafel into the hummus or smear it on top and yum!

You can add fresh red onions and cherry or plum tomatoes to the hummus for a little freshness. You can also add flatbreads to the mix but make sure they are thin and crispy. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top to add a little moisture to the bread. It’s the way the local people in the Mediterranean eat this snack!

Springtime is great for family feasts. So many great but lighter dishes which don’t make you feel bloated and tired, when you’re done, are yearning to be made. Start off with the humble but scrumptious cheese and onion quiche

Note: This is a collaborative post.