My daughter, Imi, is about to leave primary school, it’s the end of an era (breaks my heart if I’m honest), she’s had the most amazing time. So, a couple of days ago Peter and I donned our aprons and performed a ” Fanny and Johnny” cooking demo’ ( I do tend to boss the poor chap around a bit in the kitchen), as a school fundraiser.

We eat less and less meat at home, it just seems a no brainer to me – as a result we eat far more veg’ (including lots of pulses, well of course) which means more nutrients, more fibre and I believe a far more varied and interesting diet. There’s the sustainability side of things too, with meat requiring vast quantities of our valuable resources to produce: we eat just a little meat, see it as an absolute treat and make sure that it is produced ethically.

So back to the evening – all performed in truly unprofessional style on a table that just about reached our knees, with a 2 hob Baby Belling to cook on. I promised the parents that I’d post the recipes, so for the rest of you here are a few bonus dishes. Too busy to take pictures of the food I’m afraid, but here are a couple of snaps of the two of us in action (Peter in full Johnny-mode and me looking like I’ve swallowed my teeth as I gonged my pan to get the show on the road – what an attractive couple we are!)

Zucchini fritters  ( makes about 10)

You could make these with grated carrot, parsnip, beetroot, squash. How about adding some spices?  you could even just add a ready made spice mix such as a bit of garam masala/ ras al hangout/ baharat and keep the herbs to parsley aand chives (maybe throw in coriander too). This is a truly versatile recipe and a great way to get your kids eating more veg’.

1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 medium courgettes, grated
125 g green pea flour or chickpea flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp mixed fresh herbs  eg thyme, oregano, parsley, chives, rosemary
1 tbsp  pine kernels, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,  sesame seeds,
3  tbsp olive oil

Fry the onion until soft in the oil and then add the garlic for a moment or 2.
Now mix all the ingredients together well.

Heat up the oil in a large frying pan and place spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil.
Fry in 2 batches. Turning the fritters once golden and set.

Drain on paper towel and keep warm in the oven for a few minutes if not serving straight away.

Romesco Sauce  (enough for 12 servings)

A short cut recipe for Romesco, not authentic at all ( if you’re after the real thing then here’s a recipe ) This works beautifully with the fritters, with roasted veg’ (or with a bit of lamb or fish – you see I’m not anti animal protein, its just about eating less of it).

1 red pepper
2 tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic
1 heaped tbsp sweet paprika
1 small dried red chilli pepper
100g hazelnuts, roasted ( or a mix of almonds and hazelnuts)
1 -2 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt
a handful of parsley, chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C

Roast the pepper in the oven for about 30 minutes adding the  tomato and garlic for last 10 minutes.

Place everything in a blender together ( bar the parsley that you can stir in later – otherwise the sauce will turn a murky browny – green), balancing the vinegar, salt and olive oil at the end.

Add the parsley and serve.

Chickpea flat bread  – Farinata

Italian farinata, cecina, torta di ceci (depending on where you’re from), or socca from just over the French border in Nice, is a simply baked flatbread made from chickpea flour. The locals love it. Trattorias and bakeries the length of the Riviera draw regular lunchtime queues and back in my Italian yachting days I became a fan too.

The bakery in Chiavari had a sign scrawled up in the window announcing the time the hot farinata was on sale, straight from the wood-fired oven. I remember zipping back to the boatyard on my moped with a meticulously tied greaseproof parcel of steaming farinata for the crew.

A wood-fired oven is obviously not on the cards for most of us but you can create something approximating farinata in a very hot domestic oven. It’s usually just served with plenty of black pepper but I love to pile some delicious cheese or cured meat on the top.

Serves 4

200 g chickpea flour (gram flour, besan)
1/2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary (optional)
1 tsp salt
400 ml  water
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Tip the chickpea flour, salt and rosemary into a large bowl and slowly whisk in the water until you have a loose, lump-free batter. Rest the batter for at least an hour and up to 12

Preheat the oven to 220 C/425 F/Gas mark 7

Take a large flat tin or oven-proof frying pan ( the professionals have a huge round pan specifically for the purpose) and heat it up in the oven or on the hob.

Skim off any froth from the top of the batter and then stir in most of the olive oil.

Add the remaining oil to the hot pan, swirling it to create a non stick surface. Now tip in the batter to a depth of about 1 cm/just under 1/2 an inch and place in the oven.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes  or until the surface of the farinata is crisp and bubbling. I sometimes give mine a quick blast under the grill for some extra colour.

Give it a few turns of the pepper mill, slice up with a pizza cutter and serve right away.

To make unorthodox individual servings:

Fry off the batter (still about a centimetre thick) in a small omelette pan, turning it, just as you would a pancake ( make sure that it is non-stick ….ahem). Once the farinata is set slip it onto a greased oven tray. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, layering greaseproof between each flatbread and then place the tray in the oven for about 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with piles of tomato salad or anything else that takes your fancy.

Syrian-style lentils   Serves  6

4 tbsp olive oil
3 brown onions, sliced finely
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and then ground
pinch of chilli flakes or better still 2 tsp sweet Aleppo chilli flakes
300 g  brown or green lentils
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon
bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions. Keep the temperature fairly low and allow the onions to soften, sweeten and turn golden; this may take about 30- 40 minutes. Be patient.

Take out half of the onions from the pan and set aside. Turn up the heat and throw in the garlic, cumin and chilli. Stir and, as soon as you can really smell the garlic, add the lentils and enough water to cover them by about 5 cm/2 inches.

Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook until the lentils soften and begin to break down. You may have to add a little extra water from time to time if they are getting dry but go carefully, remember that you don’t want to drain away any delicious juices later. Once the lentils are really soft, and this can take over an hour, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and enough lemon juice to freshen the dish up. Stir in the coriander leaves and garnish with the remaining fried onions.

Roasted carrots –

Preheat oven to 200 ºc

Roast carrots ( smaller carrots that can be served whole or cut lengthways do look good)

Peel carrots if you feel the need , cut into chunks or leave whole if little ones, toss in olive oil and roast for about 30 mins depending on size until tender and browning a little.

Throw in some sesame seeds, cracked coriander seeds for the last 5 minutes.

Serve carrots on top of the lentils with a good splash of pomegranate molasses , maybe some pomegranate seeds, sprouted radishes or herbs – whatever you have.

Labneh recipe coming soon …….. I’ve run out of time!

I’m off to Sicily later tonight, have yet to do my packing and am taking part in the fabulous Bristol Food Connections this afternoon making falafel and minestrone and talking all things British Pules related with the fabulous Nick Saltmarsh of Hodmedods 

Thank yous

Massive thanks to Max from Bar Buvette who sorted the magnificent bar.
Anna Byass  a Hotwells PTA powerhouse who does soon much behind the scenes and basically made our event happen.
To Kirsty, Kate and all the other fab’ Year 6 parents who cooked, helped and supported the event.

The team.. ..all looking rather shiney faced and hot, we’d been working hard!

Also huge thanks to Leigh Court Farm, Reg The Veg, Chandos Deli, Isle of Wight Tomatoes and the Co-Op for being so generous donating ingredients.

HOORAH – we made lots of money for the fabulous Hotwell’s Primary School , where so many of our children have been given just the best start in life.

Getting children into the kitchen is something I’m absolutely passionate about. There’s no doubt about it, cooking works on so many levels……… knife skills are perfect for developing fine motor skills, adapting quantities and weighing ingredients can be used to test mathematical proficiency whilst keeping on top of the mess and the timings calls for good organisation. Then, most importantly, there’s the opportunity to develop a love for,  and an understanding of, good ingredients and real food that will set up good eating habits for a lifetime.

Sometimes it’s great to have a recipe that really challenges, whilst at others a familiar and extraordinarily simple combination is wonderful for building confidence and creativity. There’s something really empowering about making something without even turning to a book. An omelette is a perfect example; once they’ve mastered the egg cracking a kid can decide between herbs, grated cheese, sliced spring onion, sweetcorn and a multitude of other bits that you find in the fridge. You will probably want to stand by as they fry depending on their age and ability but it really can be a meal in minutes.

American-style pancakes (Scotch pancakes or drop scones) are a fabulous “head recipe”  especially when you use measuring cups – most people use these in the U.S. and Down Under although I have to admit that I’d rather weigh if I’m looking for precision. However the beauty of cup measuring for simpler combinations such as the pancake batter is the speed and ease with which you can work and, even better, how easy it is to remember the recipe. There are plenty of cutesy cup measures around the shops nowadays or you can just stick with the basics.

So, assuming that the child can remember the   1+1+1 recipe, they can head into the kitchen, have a cupboard/fridge forage (with your permission) and make any number of different combinations.

American- style Pancakes
– Serves 4  (about 12-16 pancakes)

The basic recipe

1 cup self raising white flour/ self raising wholemeal flour or a mixture of both.
pinch of salt
1 medium egg
1 cup milk
For the Frying: 2 tsp butter + 2 tsp vegetable oil

Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.

Add the egg and milk and whisk everything together until just combined Don’t worry about a few lumps, over whisking will make your pancakes tough.

Add 1/2 a teaspoon of butter and 1/2 tsp oil to a large frying pan and set the pan over a high heat. !!!!! Once the butter has melted, carefully add dessert spoonfuls of pancake batter to the pan. You can cook them 4 or 5 at a time.

If the pan begins to smoke turn down the heat.

Once the top of the pancakes are bubbly and the sides begin to firm it’s time to turn them over using a fish slice drawing or metal palette knife drawing

Cook for another minute or two, until golden and then place on a warm plate.

These are scrumptious eaten straight away but you can cover them with foil to keep warm until you have used all the mixture.

Add another teaspoon of butter to the pan, wait for it to melt and spoon in your next batch of pancakes.

Serve with bacon and maple syrup or a fruit salad with honey and yoghurt.

Fruity Pancakes
Add 1 grated apple or pear (peel and all) to the pancake batter when you stir it all together. Great with sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Or
Stir 1 mashed banana and the zest of 1 lime into the pancake mix and serve sprinkled with toasted coconut chips,  a pinch of brown sugar and lime juice.
Or
Add blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or blackberries to the pancakes as soon as you have spooned the mixture into the pan. About 3 0r 4 fruits per pancake will be plenty. Serve with honey.

Go Savoury
Stir 50 g grated cheddar cheese into the batter with a tablespoon of chopped chives.
Or
Stir 100 g sweetcorn kernels and 2 chopped spring onions into the batter. So, so good served with a dollop of guacamole!
Or
Make the pancake batter with wholemeal flour, a tablespoon of chives and chopped dill. Serve with smoked salmon and a blob of sour cream.

& the good news ……….I gave a presentation to Year 5 at Bristol Grammar School last week and we played around with some variations on these pancakes. When it came to tasting, more of the kids plumped for the savoury than sweet options……. RESULT!

Images are by Deirdre Rooney from my book Cool Kids Cook ( Pavilion 2016)