feel food club

spring

Healthy Rhubarb Crumble Cake

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A nice, fluffy and juice layer of cake underneath a fresh and sweet layer of rhubarb topped with a healthy and crispy almond oat crumble. Is there anything else you want? Maybe having this healthy rhubarb crumble cake with a nice cup of coffee? you better don’t say no!

Why crumble cake?

Crumble cakes are one of my favourites. I love the different tastes and textures in each layer and the combination of them melting together in my mouth. Also, I think they are very fun to make and they always have something fresh in them with the fruits. I already have one crumble cake on my blog, an apple crumble cake, and it is so good! In this recipe I just added a spring twist on it instead of a fall one! Imagine this cake as a mix between my healthy apple crumble cake and my rhubarb compote!

I had my first crumble cake about 2 years ago. It actually also was a rhubarb one, and it was amazing! I can remember it very well because it was at a small café in Dublin where they had soo many different cakes! I shared one piece with my friends and let me tell you, it was amazing! So when I saw all the fresh rhubarb at the farmers market the other day, I decided to try to recreate it, but make it healthier. And let me tell you, I did not expect it to turn out THAT GOOD. I thought it would be fine but when I tried the first slice, I just wanted to eat the whole tray before photographing it. It is insane!! And really, it does not taste healthy or boring at all.

The layers:

The first layer is kind of a biscuit layer but a little healthier. It essentially comes down to only 5 ingredients! Who thought that you could make a cake with 4 ingredients only? Eggs, maple syrup, apple sauce (Apfelmuß in German, because so many asked me what this was), wholegrain flour, baking powder. That is it. The egg whites are separated from the yolks and whipped up until super fluffy and stiff. This makes the cake really airy. The applesauce makes it really juicy and the maple syrup makes it sweet. Both are combined with the egg yolk. Afterwards, the flour and baking powder as well as the egg whites are folded in. This need to be pre-baked a little.

The second, and middle layer is a fruit layer. This is even easier than the first one. You do not even need to peel the rhubarb (if you buy organic one preferably), just cut it into smaller pieces. Add it to a pot with some lemon juice and a date to sweeten it up (could use sugar or honey as well) and a splash of water. The heating up helps it to get a little softer and absorb the flavour of the lemon and date. Then this is added on top of the biscuit layer.

The last but definitely not least layer is the crumble. Contrary to conventional crumbles it is not based of sugar, butter and flour. NO. The base are oats and almonds. I like to use sliced ones but you could also just chop the up a little. Together with some chia seeds (optional) and coconut sugar (again, another sweetener works fine too, just a liquid one will not have the same crunch effect, so I would recommend substituting it out for white or brown sugar), and a little coconut oil it creates a sticky consistency. This on top of the fruit just tastes bomb. It is kind of like granola just on top of a cake. So good.

When to enjoy best?

So honestly, you are going to want to eat this at every time of the day. And basically you could. It would even work as a nice breakfast. It has about than 2.6g fibre, 3.3g of protein, and 14.2g of carbohydrates per slice. So having two slices for breakfast with some yoghurt on top wouldn’t be unhealthy. But this also makes a great snack or dessert. Even when having guests over this will be amazing! Or take it to a picnic?

Substitutions

If you do not like rhubarb at all, but still want a crumble cake, you can also substitute them out for berries, such as strawberries. It really is versatile but I believe that the little sour taste of the rhubarb just goes really well with the sweetness of the cake. Instead of whole grain flour, you could use plain one, and instead of the maple syrup you can totally go for honey, agave of coconut sugar. If you do not have almonds on hand, you can use any other nuts as well!

I hope that you like this recipe and it gives you some inspiration for cooking healthy! Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisiniere

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Healthy Rhubarb Crumble Cake

The best cake you´ll ever have! Fluffly and juice biscuit, topped with fresh and tangy rhubarb and a healthy and crispy crumble! SO good.

Course brunch, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine austrian
Prep Time 20 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 12 slices
Calories 113 kcal

What you will need

For the first layer:

  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g unsweetend apple sauce (Apfelmuß in Deutsch)
  • 60 g Maple syrup agave, honey or sugar work too!
  • 125 g wholegrain flour normal flour is fine as well
  • 1 tsp baking powder

For the second layer:

  • 250 g Rhubarb
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1 large date (or 2 small ones, about 30g)
  • a splash of water

For the thrid layer:

  • 50 g oats
  • 25 g sliced almonds or any nuts
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar (or any other sweetener of choice)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    For the first layer seperate the egg yolks from the whites. Whip the whites until fluffy and stiff. In the meantime combine the yolks with the apple sauce and maple syrup. Combine flour and baking powder.

    Once the egg whites are stiff gently fold them under the yolk mixture, along with the flour, one at a time. When combined pour it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8 minutes.

  2. In the meantime cut the ends of the rhubarb and wash it gently. Cut it into about 3cm (1 inch) sized pieces. Take the pit out of the date and chop it finely. Add both to a pot along with the lemon juice and a splash of water (about 2 tbsp). Bring it to a boil and simmer until the first layer is done baking.

  3. While the rhubarb is simmering, combine the oats, nuts and seeds in a bowl. Melt the coconut oil and combine with the sugar and vanilla. Pour it over the mixture and combine everything well. It should all stick together a bit.

  4. When the frist layer is done baking take it out of the oven. Add the rhubarb evenly on top and sprinkle with the crumble. Bake for another 7-10 minutes.

  5. Take out of the oven and let cool. Serve with some ice cream, whipped cream or a dollop of yoghurt and enjoy!

Asparagus and Strawberry Salad

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This salad is like spring in a bowl. So mush freshness, fruitiness but also savoury goodness. Super easy to make, full of vitamins, perfect side dish or light main course. Absolutely in love!

Spring honestly is my favourite season. Everything is starting to bloom and coming back to life. Flowers are so colourful and the markets are full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Including two of my favourites: Asparagus and strawberries.

How we typically eat Asparagus

Asparagus is something very typical in Austria. We usually have it with Risotto, as a side or very very typical with potatoes, ham and molten butter or sauce hollandaise. But while this is good once in a while I feel like it is really heavy and not healthy in the long term. This salad, on the other hand is something very light and refreshing.

Which Asparagus works best?

Definitely a mix! Use some white stalks and some greens because the combination of the slightly different flavours is just super good! If you want, you can also use purple asparagus although I would not necessarily recommend to buy it extra for this. I have tried it out with purple asparagus but it lost its colour while cooking and turned green. So it was a bit of a pity.

How to cook asparagus?

This actually is not as easy as many people think. I mean it is to hard but you just need to know how. Green Asparagus is super easy. You just need to cut off the ends of the stalks and boil it in salted water for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. White asparagus is slightly different. It also needs some boiling water, you need to salt it, and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of sugar. This takes out the bitterness of the asparagus and makes it really good!

Do you need to peel asparagus?

Depends. Green asparagus does not need to be peeled. Neither does purple one. White one on the other hand needs to be peeled!! Generously! I would recommend to peel it twice. If it is not peeled well it will have strings when eating and that’s not good tbh.

Fruit in salad?

A big YES!!! This is game changing! Especially the combination of strawberries and asparagus is insane! The sweetness of the strawberry pairs perfectly well with the freshness of the asparagus. If you do not have strawberries on hand or do not like them, you can add in raspberries instead, which also must taste really good!

Other add-ins:

Here you can be really creative! What would 100% work well is some kind of cheese like mozzarella, burrata cheese, cottage cheese or feta. Those would make it really good! Also, grilled chicken breast or prawns would take this next level but also hard boiled eggs.

When & how to eat it?

You can have this as a nice side dish and leave it as is or make a little more and add in something like hard boiled eggs for example and enjoy it with some freshly toasted bread or couscous to have it as a filling salad!

I hope that you like this recipe as much as I do and that you will make it many times this spring!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Asparagus and Strawberry Salad

Not your average asparagus side dish but much better! Sweetness of the strawberries paired with the taste of fresh asparagus is just heaavenly!

Course Appetizer, lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 sides
Calories 149 kcal

What you will need

  • 500 g white asparagus
  • 500 g asparagus
  • 500 g strawberries
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1 handful mint
  • 1 handful basil
  • 1 handful parsley
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp maple or honey
  • 1 tbsp butter or magarine
  • 1 tsp sugar

How to

  1. Bring a large pot with water to a boil. Peel the white asparagus generously (about 2x). Cut the ends (about 3cm) of both, white and green asparagus and throw them away. Cut the asparagus into about 3-4cm sized pieces.

    Add the butter (or magarine) and sugar into the boiling water and salt it. Add in the white asparagus and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add in the green asparagus and cook for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. You can test if they are ready by pieking through them with a fork. If they almost fall off the fork, they are done. Then drain them.

  2. In the meantime remove the green part from the strawberries and half them or cut them into quarters, depending on how big they are. Slice the spring onions and seperate the onion rings from each other.

  3. Roughly chop up the basil, mint and parsley.

  4. Add the asparagus, strawberries, spring onions and herbs into a bowl. In a seperate small bowl combine the olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon and the maple syrup. Toss the salad in the dressing and serve!

    Enjoy!

Notes

If you want to have it as a main dish just make more (about half more, so 6 servings for 4 people). You can then also add in other things like hard boiled eggs, feta or mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken breast or prawns! 

Honey Eggplant and chickpea salad with grilled halloumi

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Sounds like a lot and it is. So many flavors, so much goodness but still so simple and quick. Leave the boring salads behind and start making those next level ones. Salads have never tasted that good! 

Sunmer ist getting closer and closer, which means many people try to live and eat healthier. And whats the stereotype thing to do in order to eat healthiet? Salads! But contrary to commin believes, the plain ones only containing leaves and a dressing, maybe a piece of chicken, are bot the healthiest ones! 

Why are conventional salads not necessarily healthy?

Because they will fill you up for an hour maximum and wont leave you satisfied! Whats the problem with that? If you are not filled and satisfied for long, you will start to get hungry again very soon and snack or binge eat on unhealthy things as you will develop cravings for that. In order to bot develop these, it is important to have a filling, nutritious and delicious meal. And I know that this can be difficult with salads but believe me, this one is everything else than boring. 

Whats in it?

You bake the chickpeas and eggplant in the oven, with a slight olive oil and honey drizzle to get them crispy and a bit sweet. Honestly, life changing! If you habe never done chickpeas or eggplant with honey, I‘d say you should head straight to the kitchen and get started! And its so simple! You place the main components of the salad in the oven for 20 minutes and you are already half way there. 

The most extra dressing

The remaining base of the salad is some basic spinach. Bot a lot, just to add some color and vitamins! But whats a salad without a dressing? My brother would say rabbit food! And he is right. It is boring and plain. I do not get those people who skip on salad dressings because they literally are the easiest thing ever and add a ton of flavor. Honestly, don‘t skip on that. In here we have a super extra, still super simple dressing. 3 ingredients (!!) so much flavor! The ingredients are purred tomatoes (the ones from the can or box), Tahini and lemon juice. I do not know why I have never thought of making dressing with tomato sauce before but it is good. I wouldn‘t do it with a green side salad but on top of buddha bowls or italian inspired ones or ones that are pretty extra, as this one, this is so good! Highly recommended!

The star of the show

Last but definitely not least, the grilled halloumni. I have never had halloumni up till a few months ago and from then on it is a must in my diet! So addictingly good. On salads, on bowls, on pasta, on everything. It really adds this last pinch of salt to anything. Like here. It adds the extra wow, the saltiness and satisfying touch. We essentially only need to grill it for a few minutes on each side and thats it! Assemble! You can serve it with some bread, although I believe that this is not necessary because it is amazing and filling as is! 

You can meal prep it, just leave the dressing extra and keep in mind that the halloumni won’t be as melty and good but it still tastes pretty solid. My recommendation: make it fresh, it is better.

I hope that you will like this recipe and that it will change up your regular salad routine a little! 

Enjoy,

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Honey Eggplant and Chickpea Salad with grilled Halloumi

Next level salad. Has nothing to do with the boring image of salads you have in your head. Sweet and tangy eggplant & chickpeas, combined with salty fried halloumi and the most extra dressing. Enjoy now & Thank me later!

Course Appetizer, bowl, lunch, Salad
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 366 kcal

What you will need

  • 2 large handful spinach
  • 160 g chickpeas from the can, rinsed, drained, and pat dry
  • 1 eggplant
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • some salt & pepper
  • 200 g halloumi
  • 1/2 lemon juiced

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil (just pured tomatoes from the can/ boy without anything)
  • 1 tbsp Tahini
  • 1 lemon juiced

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Slice the eggplant into about 2 cm sized cubes. Drain, rinse and pat the chickpeas dry. Place both in a bowl. In a seperate bowl combie the olive oil, lemon juice and honey. Generously salt and pepper the eggplant and chickpeas and then toss in the dressing. Bake for abou 20 minutes at 180°C.

  2. Meanwhile combine all the ingredients for the dressing.

    Heat up a grilling pan to high heat. Slice up the halloumi in about 0.5 cm thick slices. Just before the chickpeas are done baking, fry the halloumi on it for about 2-3 minutes on each side until it gets some grilling marks and melts nicely.

  3. When the tray is done baking, combine the ingredients with the spinach and the dressing. Seperate on bowls and top with the grilled halloumi!

    Serve and enjoy!

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Potato and Asparagus Salad with herby vinaigrette

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Salad does not have to include greens and be boring all the time. By far not. As much as we love some refreshing and light salads, sometimes we are craving something more filling and heartier. Not saying it needs to be less healthy. Like this one. So good. So refreshing. So filling. Perfect lunch as is or ideal barbecue side! Amazing.

Spring is, fresh asparagus and fresh herbs for me. The colours and smell of them just really make one smile. Asparagus is so healthy and versatile too! You can make a soup, a risotto, just plain with potatoes or hollandaise sauce, whatever you want and it tastes amazing when prepared the right way.

Green, white or pink?

Asparagus is really high in fiber and has a reasonable amount of protein for a vegetable. Also, it is packed with folate and very low in calories. No matter, which one you prefer, white or green (or there even is pink one, which I have never tried but is super cool!), they are all pretty similar in nutrients. The white one just has a more intense asparagus taste, while the green one is milder. In this recipe I like to use both, because they add different flavours, textures and colours, but if you do not like either at all, you can only go with one type.

Are potatoes even healthy?

But asparagus is only half of the deal. As good as it is, it is not super filling. But since we want this to be a filling dish, with some good carbohydrates, we still need some potatoes. I know that there are a lot of saying that claim that carbs and potatoes are bad but they are not! They are loaded with incredibly nourishing vitamins, a lot of fiber and minerals. Potatoes actually are a super food! And Carbohydrates are everything else than unhealthy. They are the main source of energy for our bodies, which means they should make up more than half of our diet. They are essential for us!

Which potatoes should I use?

The best potatoes for this recipe are baby potatoes (Bauernkartoffel in German). Why? Because you can eat them with the skin on and they are small. Therefore you do not have to peel them or cut them smaller, which is way more convenient. If you cannot find them anywhere, you can substitute them with others, but it will be lot more work.

Last but not least: the perfect vinaigrette

What would a salad be without a decent vinaigrette? Not a salad, just some veggies. I believe that in most dishes, the real flavour comes down to the sauces. Just like here. You could cover everything with a hollandaise sauce but this would not just make it pretty unhealthy but also would not taste as good. The vinaigrette here is very simple and rather light. It is a mix of lemon juice, parsley and olive oil. The lemon and a freshness, the herbs some greens and flavour and the olive oil helps the potatoes not to stick together and also adds a bunch of flavour. Together it tastes amazing and so fresh. The combination with the asparagus, potatoes, and dishes is just amazing!

When and how should we eat it?

You can enjoy this salad when it still is warm or you can also enjoy it cold, which makes it a great leftover. Unlike most salads, you can add the vinaigrette here beforehand (if you want to repurpose it as a leftover) and do not have to wait until just before you want to eat it. If you want, this can be a main dish, and if you wish you could add some boiled eggs or cottage cheese to it. But this also works great as a side dish that packs carb and veggies in one! Love to serve this at a barbecue or with a nice piece of meat or fish!

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and will have fun cooking!
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Potato and Asparagus Salad with herby vinaigrette

A super refreshing and delicious spring salad that will nourrish you and fill you up! Soft potatoes with some delish asparagus and a refreshing herb vinaigrette! Toatlly delish!

Course Appetizer, dinner, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 sides
Calories 199 kcal

What you will need

  • 600 g baby potatoes
  • 600 g asparagus (mixed white and green)
  • 100 g radishes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • juice from 1 small or 1/2 large lemon
  • 1 tbsp parsley chopped
  • 1/2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar

How to

  1. Bring two pots with water to a boil. Salt both. In one pot add the baby potatoes and boild for 20 minutes.

    In the meantime, generously peel the white asparagus, about 2 times around the stalk. Chop about 2 cm off the ends of both, green and white asparagus.

    In the empty pot add the butter and sugar and the white asparagus. Let this boil for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. Then add in the green aspargus and cook for another 5 minutes. The total cooking time of the white asparagus is between 10 and 15 minutes.

  2. Once the potatoes are done cooking, let them cool a little bit. Then half them or cut them into three pieces. Add them into a bowl. Finely grate or chop the radishes and add aswell.

    When the asparagus is done cooking, also cut it into about 2-3 cm sized pieces and add them aswell. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

    In a bowl combine the parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Add it to the other vegetables and mix through.

    Serve and enjoy!