Peashoot, Egg & Salmon Salad

This is a lovely nutritious quick and easy salad, delicious with fresh crusty bread, or if you're feeling naughty, a bowl of home made wedges.

If you're getting bored of the typical lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad, try this simple nutritious salad - it is absolutely delicious and most importantly, NUTRITIOUS!

Let's take a look at the health benefits of the ingredients to be used:

Pea shoots:

Pea shoots are the leaves of immature garden peas. They are often used as a gourmet ingredient that can often be pricey when ordered in a restaurant.

In my next post, I will be sharing how you can grow your own for a fraction of the price and have these gorgeous salad leaves ready for when you want to impress some dinner guests or if you simply want to treat yourself.

What do pea shoots taste like you ask? They have a similar taste to peas and come with several vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals (thought to be responsible for the protective health benefits of plant based foods – they are responsible for the colour, taste and flavour of plant foods).

Health benefits:

Low in calories and a source of fibre
Source of:
Vitamin C - an antioxidant that promotes immune system health, aids iron absorption from foods, plays a part in blood vessel formation among other internal body structures.
Folic acid - a B Vitamin that aids healthy blood and cell production and is an essential vitamin during pregnancy.
Vitamin A - a source of Vitamin A – promoting healthy vision, eye and skin health.

Eggs:

The humble egg is rich in nutrients like B vitamins, iron and fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K (healthy eyes and skin; aid absorption of calcium/bone health; antioxidant protecting cells; healthy blood clotting, respectively).

A great source of high quality protein – inexpensive in comparison to meat sources. Protein aids growth, maintenance and repair of the body.
Eggs are filling so help manage calorie intake, so can be beneficial in weight management.

N.B. Despite past concerns, e.g. do not increase your risk of heart disease due to increasing cholesterol. Evidence indicates that the cholesterol present in eggs has little impact on blood cholesterol levels so don’t panic. Make sure to stick to portion recommendations as with all foods, over eating is not healthy.

Salmon:

We are advised to eat one portion of an oily fish a week and guess what, Salmon counts!

Salmon is a versatile, delicious ingredient packed for of nutrients. Just to name a few…

Rich source of:
Omega-3 Fatty Acids – considered to be essential s we can only get them from foods we eat as the body cannot create them. Associated with decreasing blood pressure, reducing inflammation and decreasing risk of other diseases.
Another great source of high quality protein.
Great source of B vitamins necessary for brain and heart health, energy production and controlling inflammation that can lead to heart disease. (1,2,3)

Lemons:

Lemons have antibacterial and medicinal properties so their juice is a great addition to salads not solely because it is a component of salad dressings.

Rich in Vitamin C – see above. Contain many other immune boosting vitamins and minerals.
Aid digestion and promotes healthy skin

Extra virgin olive oil:

Considered a good/healthy dietary fat called 'unsaturated fat'. This is the type of fat the helps to lower levels of cholesterol in the blood and promotes heart health.

Source of:
Vitamin E – an antioxidant, promoting immune system health and that helps to protect cells from damage resulting from harmful compounds formed when our bodies convert energy from the food we eat in addition to harmful compounds we get exposed to in the environment like pollution.
Other sources of Vitamin E include – Nuts e.g. peanuts, almonds; Seeds e.g. sunflower seeds; Green vegetables and in food fortified with the vitamin.
Vitamin K – important for healthy bones and blood clotting and heart health benefits.

N.B Although olive oil is a healthy fat, it is still high in calories so needs to be used in moderation; and used in place of saturated fats (unhealthy) like butter and other fats that tend to be solid at room temperature; rather than in addition to them.

So enough of the health benefits, there are clearly plenty, LETS GET COOKING!

RECIPE

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 small salmon fillet
50g pea shoots
1tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp mustard
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Black Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180oC and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Place your salmon fillet on the tray and bake for 7 minutes or until cooked but slightly pink inside
While the salmon is baking, boil some water and fill a pan with the water and bring to boil on the hob. Place the eggs into the boiling water for 6-7 minutes for a soft boiled egg; 10 minutes for a hard-boiled egg.
Remove from the pan and run the eggs under cold water to cool. Once you can handle them, remove the shells and cut in quarters.
Once salmon is cooked, place in a bowl and cut or flake into small chunks and leave aside.
Make the dressing by thoroughly mixing the lemon juice, mustard and oil. Season to taste.
Arrange the pea shoots, salmon chunks and eggs on a plate and drizzle with the dressing.
Serve with fresh crusty bread, or if you're feeling really naughty, a nice portion of potato wedges (try sweet potato wedges for a change from normal potatoes).