cooking with kids

sweet glazed carrots

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Carrots but not as you know them. These are subtlety sweet and particularly delicious. The roots of this recipe are French and Danish and that’s why they are so tasty. The French often serve their carrots like this and the chief chefs in our house when I was growing up were Danish. Once I’d cooked them this way as a side dish, I always cook them this way when I have carrots especially when I cook a roast. They are perfect at Thanksgiving and with the Christmas feast.
Recipe
Serves 6.
Ingredients:
1kg of carrots
30g of butter or a tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of maple syrup or sugar
1 big squeeze of lemon juice
A handful of finely chopped  parsley
Salt and pepper
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pandoro or panettone bread and butter pudding

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Get your elasticated waist bands ready…this is a really indulgent dessert….but worth it because it’s truly delicious but definitely on the naughty list. Pandoro or panettone Italian cakes are perfect for a good old fashioned bread and butter pudding, as they are rather bread-like and lend themselves totally to this recipe, Pandoro particularly as its baked in a star shaped tin, so it looks very Christmassy when it’s sliced into star shapes. It’s also a delicious way to use them up if there’s loads in your larder at Christmas or afterwards or when you fancy doing something a bit different with them and want to turn them into an even more scrumptious dessert. It’s Italy meets England in the best possible way…and great for making with kids. You can get them to saw up the Pandoro into star shapes for you.
Recipe
Serves 3-4.
Ingredients:
250g of Pandoro or Panettone (I use the baby size ones)
30g approx of butter at room temperature
2 eggs
140ml of double cream
220ml milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of white caster sugar
Icing sugar for dusting
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the perfect roast potatoes

~ aplotzi ~ 4 Comments

Roast potatoes are one of the best inventions in the food world along with chips, in my humble opinion. Heston Blumenthal and most of the top cooks recommend Maris Piper potatoes. The reason for this is they are very starchy which means you get a fluffy inside and a crispy outside. If Maris Pipers are not available get a floury potato like a Desiree or a King Edward, the varieties and names of potatoes vary from country to country, so if in doubt just make sure it’s a floury type as opposed to waxy. Roast potatoes are always best served straight away while they are still hot and crisp.

Recipe

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
1 kg of potatoes, peeled and halved
3 tablespoons of olive oil (or goose fat or duck fat)
Salt and pepper to taste

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ethical mince pies

~ aplotzi ~ 2 Comments

There really isn’t anything as delicious and comforting as a home made mince pie that’s still warm from the oven. It’s totally evocative of Christmas with the smell of all the spices, dried fruit and brandy. These mince pies are totally vegetarian and don’t use beef suet or the unethical palm oil which are in most shop bought mince meat jars and mince pies. They are easy to make, you use shop bought pastry if you can’t, like me, be bothered to make it and because the filling is so good, no one will notice. They are fun to make with kids too as they can decorate the top their way. I use a Christmas tree cookie  cutter, but there are lots of different Christmas themed cookie cutters you could use.

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maple roasted root vegetables

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You can use other root vegetables for this recipe like sweet potato, but I use carrots and parsnips because I love them. The maple syrup makes them sweet and sticky which work really well with the flavours of the carrots and parsnips. They also become soft on the inside and sticky and crunchy-ish on the outside,  which as you know is always a great combo in my book. I don’t peel the parsnips and carrots as I think all the flavour and fibre are in the skin, and life’s too short.

Recipe

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
1 kg of assorted root vegetables
3 tablespoons of olive oil
5 tablespoons of maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste

mapleroasted
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brussels sprouts with chestnuts

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Boiled brussels sprouts are a bit boring and are a hundred times nicer fried or roasted. I have served these to people who don’t even like brussels and they were converted into sprout fans. This might be a good way to get kids to eat them too. They are a really healthy part of any meal, as they contain astonishing levels of Vitamin C. Perfect with Thanksgiving or Christmas fare, but also really delish as a side dish to dinner anytime and of course they are an essential ingredient to the Boxing Day bubble and squeak.

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the perfect cranberry sauce

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Trust me on this one, this is one of the best recipes for cranberry sauce ever, shop bought cranberry sauce doesn’t even compare to it. I think it’s the star of the show on the Christmas dinner plate and is perfect with cold cuts and sandwiches after Christmas day. For me it kind of makes Christmas food far more delicious. A friend of mine and her children so look forward to my yearly Christmas batch, not only for their Christmas meal but they love it enough to even put it on their toast.
And jars of your own cranberry sauce tied with a red ribbon make great home made Christmas presents for loved ones.

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pumpkin risotto

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Perfect for a vegetarian dinner party, this risotto can be made with any squash instead, so if pumpkins are not in season you can use what it’s available. It’s not only perfect for a Halloween dinner, but it’s delicious all year round too. It’s baked, so there is no need to stand over a hot stove stirring for half an hour unless you want to make it the traditional way (which is fine too). The crispy sage leaves and the caramelised pumpkin taste amazing together and I like it with a little dribble of aged balsamic over the top as well.

Recipe

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
12 sage leaves, chopped
12 sage leaves, fried till crispy
400g risotto rice
800g pumpkin peeled, cored and cubed
1 litre hot chicken or vegetable stock
30g butter
40g of finely grated Parmesan (or plant based parmesan)
More Parmesan to grate on top

pumpkinsagerisotto_ingredients

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salted pistachio chocolate brownies

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These are the easiest brownies to make and are dairy free. The saltiness of the pistachios enhances the flavour of the chocolate. They are very chocolatey but quite light.

Makes about 8 brownies.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of vegetable oil, I use mild olive oil
1 cup light brown soft sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup of flour
50 g of pistachios, roughly chopped

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