A Quick Summer Dish
This week’s quick summer dinner is from Nutritional Scientist, Toral Shah - founder of @theurbankitchen. It’s light, delicious and nutritious and, if you’re feeling a bit swish, it’s also perfect with a cheeky glass of rosé. Hey, we’re all about balance here.
“This seasonal low-carb meal makes the most of strawberries, basil and pea shoots which are all at their peak and full of nutrients in the late summer. Trout contains omega 3 fish oils which can reduce inflammation and prevent cancer, and the pea shoots are high in all water soluble vitamins such as vitamins B1, B2 and B6 and vitamin C.”
Why is it good for my brain?
As Toral pointed out, (cos she’s awesome), trout is high is omega 3, an essential fatty acid that makes up the cell membranes in your brain - it’s also low on the mercury list, so that’s a bonus. Avocados are high in monounsaturated fat, which can help to lower the high blood pressure linked to cognitive decline; and strawberries contain anthocyanin, which helps to improve memory and focus.
The Recipe
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 1
For the salad
50g pea shoots
½ medium avocado, cut into large dice
¼ red onion, finely sliced
50g fresh English strawberries, cut into half
For the fish
125g trout fillet
½ juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp floral mustard
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
(Top Tip – After marinating, the trout can be pan-fried, baked or even poached. And, if you can’t find trout, salmon is a great substitute.)
For the basil oil
20g lemon or normal basil
50ml fruity olive oil (we use the Gay Farmer)
½ tsp Maldon salt
Method
Prepare the marinade by mixing together the mustard, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice and marinate the trout for at least 15 min.
Slice the red onion and soak in a bowl of iced water in the fridge for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the basil oil by blitzing the basil with the oil and salt in a small food processor. You may need to add a little more oil to ensure that it is not too thick.
Arrange the washed pea shoots on a plate, topped with the strawberry halves, avocado and red onion.
Heat a large non-stick pan and pan-fry the trout for about 3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked.
Arrange onto the salad and drizzle with the basil oil.
You can see more great content from Toral on her Instagram, Twitter and Website.
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About Toral
Toral Shah a Nutritional Scientist (MSc Nutr Med), Food Consultant and Chef , as well as the Founder of The Urban Kitchen.
She specialises in optimising health and disease prevention through improving food, diet and lifestyle. She uses evidence based science knowledge along with lifestyle medicine and cooking skills to help support others to lead a healthier life by eating delicious and nutritious food. She is particularly passionate about cancer prevention and completed her MSc thesis researching the foods that prevent recurrence of breast cancer. As a breast cancer patient and survivor, she understand how patients might want to change their diet and lifestyle post diagnosis.
She also works with a large portfolio of brands, press and individuals within the food and wellness industry from hosting supper clubs, speaking at large events, developing recipes and creating nutritional content for brands sharing her knowledge
She is currently the process of writing her first book which explores the latest science behind foods that optimise health and illustrates them with some of her favourite recipes.
You can find out more about her story here.