Orange and Avocado Salad with Zesty Dressing

Easter is a great time of family celebration, where good food and feasting is central to any Easter get-together.

In Australia, fish is the traditional favourite on Good Friday, while lamb is on the menu for Easter Sunday. And while big lunches are the order of the day, it is the unending supply of Easter Eggs and treats that turn your Easter feasting into a high fat-fiesta.

To prevent the four day break becoming a choc-fest extraordinaire, here's some special family fish and lamb dishes from leading Australian dietitian Karen Inge APD and the makers of Gourmet Garden herbs in a tube, to ensure a little nutritional balance is bought to your table.

"Easter can be a rather indulgent time, with Easter eggs, hot cross buns with lashings of butter and lots of family meals to enjoy. Our recipes are really easy and perfect for entertaining, and you can serve them knowing they are nutritious," said Karen.
"Easter eating should stay traditional and delicious, but you can simply reduce the fat and salt content by using herbs and spices and adopting healthy cooking methods.
"The beauty of herbs and spices is that they add flavour, while also giving you a nutritional boost due to their high antioxidant count. You can either use fresh, or have a few tubes of herbs in the fridge to see you through the holiday time."

Fish is a popular choice on Good Friday and Australians have a great range of fish to choose from. Among the traditional favourites are barramundi and John Dory (also know as St Peter's fish in Europe), a mild and delicate white flesh fish best when grilled whole or roasted in the oven. If you want to give your omega 3 levels a boost, then choose oily fish such as salmon or ocean trout.

No Easter weekend of eating would be complete without a traditional Hot Cross Bun and an Easter egg or two. If you make your own Hot Cross Buns, try adding some Gourmet Garden Ginger to give them some added flavour and an antioxidant boost. With Easter eggs, if the rest of your meals are healthy then you should be able to have a small indulgence without too much concern.

Orange and Avocado Salad with Zesty Dressing

Ingredients

3 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp Gourmet Garden Basil
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Chilli
3 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp mild honey
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 seedless oranges
3 avocados
230g baby rocket leaves

Method
1. For the dressing: In a screw-top jar, place chopped red onion, Gourmet Garden Basil, Chilli,orange juice, honey and olive oil. Cover and shake well until blended. Season to taste with salt andfreshly ground
2.To assemble the salad: Peel, pith and slice seedless oranges into rounds. Halve, pit, peel andthinly slice avocados. Divide baby arugula leaves between individual salad plates. Top withoranges and avocados.
3.Spoon dressing over salad. Enjoy!

Gourmet Garden has over 150 recipes to see you through the holiday season and beyond at www.gourmetgarden.com