In today's Bite: Lighten up, it's spring

In the

Bite

kitchen "lighten up" for spring is not about losing weight, it's about adding a more delicate note to the dishes we cook. Making them less heavy and rich to refresh the appetite. There is a lot less bulk to these types of meals so I guess a few calories are saved along the way. Bonus. We have six recipes that will transition us from winter to spring this week.

Minced beef kofta

is served with lettuce and tomato. I round it out a couscous steamed in hot chicken stock and fluffed up with a good extra virgin olive oil.

Peter Gordon's

fish soup

is, as is everything Peter makes, a taste sensation that will definitely give the tastebuds a reboot.

To lighten up the dinner menu Ray McVinnie serves

sausages with a warm lentil salad

, gives a

light lamb stew

a Kiwi twist and

poached chicken and vegetables

is accompanied by a fresh tomato mustard relish.

Megan May's

tabbouleh

? Now there's a spring project. Pickle those beets, give that plant-based thing a go with homemade cashew cheese and discover buckwheat – the gluten-free grain that's not a grain.