Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Spring is one of those times of the year, when we're reminded about new life as bulbs and dormant seeds sprout, leaf buds appear and new chickens hatch.

For some reason people decide to start to get healthy, with gym memberships increasing and eating habits changing from soups to salads.

This is the time when those healthy thoughts are awakened, as there's increasing amounts of wonderful sunlight breaking the hibernation factor and we think about what we're putting in our bodies.

Maybe this isn't the case for everyone, but often there's a time – in my case right now –where your body tells you something. Sometimes we listen, often we don't.

You start to think do I really need a double cheeseburger and fries? Or should I have an Asian green stirfry with fresh steamed noodles, soy sprouts and ginger soy and garlic and black bean sauce for dinner?

This was our dinner the other night. My teenage son helped with the stirfry, cellphone in one hand and spatula in the other.

The cost of the meal was indeed half the price of the burger meal for two, twice as nice and meat-free. But I'm sure burgers these days have a small percentage of meat in them, if any at all.

So with healthy spring ideas in mind I wonder what the next dinner or cooking lesson with my son will be, as I try to instil healthy eating habits.

I have just the dish this week's healthy spring meal – seared salmon on a pea shoots and soya sprout omelette with roasted asparagus.

Seared salmon on spring omelette with roasted asparagus

Ingredients

Serves two

1 handful freshly-picked pea shoots

150g soya bean sprouts

1 bunch asparagus

3 free-range eggs

Olive oil for cooking

50g shredded parmesan

200g fresh salmon fillet

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp fish sauce

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup apple juice

¼ cup dark soya sauce

Chopped fresh dill

Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Method

Cut skin off the salmon and slice into even slices about one-two centimetres thick. Place in a plastic bag with a mix of the ginger, vinegar, apple juice, fish sauce, soya sauce and chopped dill.

Squish the marinade carefully around the slices, trying to keep them intact. Leave for 15 minutes while making the omelette.

Snap the asparagus and brush with olive oil and pepper and salt and place under a hot grill for about eight minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pea shoots in a little oil in an omelette pan. Add the soya sprouts and stir well, then pour in the eggs after whisking them with a fork.

When the omelette is ready and set, cut into large wedges and plate up.

Sprinkle some parmesan over the asparagus as you finish grilling it under the grill.

Then place these lackadaisically over the omelette wedges.

Last but not least heat a non-stick pan as hot as you dare. Remove the salmon slices from the plastic bag. Sear and cook them, then transfer to top off the plated arrangement. Season with some lemon juice, olive oil, soya sauce and dill.