When you spend a lot of time trying to make dinners that children will eat, adult tastes can be overlooked. It’s one thing accepting that the whole family won’t eat a fiery dish laced with Szechuan pepper, quite another giving in to bland and repetitive meals for the sake of eating together.
Designing dinners that please all-comers is complicated. I have some hits and frequent misses. Last week, an attempt to create the mildest chicken curry ever was met with rejection, while a lasagne packed with lentils and squash was unexpectedly eaten.
More and more, I try to create one meal that offers options and get-out clauses, providing flavour and texture without being too challenging for younger eaters. We don’t eat together every night – for the sake of sanity and conversation as much as the food itself.
My pet hate is parents begging their children to eat more vegetables or finish their plates, so I try to incorporate a mix of ingredients and nutrients into the main event. I’m not shy of mixing something out of a packet with a mostly from-scratch meal.
Speed isn’t my forte, but Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook and Channel 4 show, Jamie’s 20-Minute Meals (Mondays at 4pm on Channel 4, until 16 November) have the speed element sorted. I’m including two recipes from 20 Minute Meals: Real Fast Food that are sure to please children and adults alike: chicken and sausage stew with cherry tomatoes and borlotti beans, the flavour amped up with smoked pancetta, and fish pie pasta bake, a super-quick spin on fish pie crossed with crowd-pleasing pasta, along with my pork and pea meatballs and pick‘n’mix sushi rice bowls.
Chicken and sausage stew by Jamie Oliver
Serves 2
Olive oil1 x 150g skinless free-range chicken breast2 rashers of higher-welfare smoked pancetta2 higher-welfare sausages (130g)1 x 400g tin of cherry tomatoes1 x 400g tin of borlotti beansRed wine vinegar160g purple sprouting broccoliHalf a bunch of rosemary (10g)2 cloves of garlic1 lemonExtra virgin olive oil2 large slices of sourdough bread (100g each)
A hearty, high-protein meal that few will turn down (Photo: David Loftus)1. Turn the grill on to high. Put a large shallow casserole pan on a high heat with one tablespoon of olive oil. Adding it all to the pan as you go, chop the chicken into six equal pieces and halve the pancetta and sausages. Cook for nine minutes, stirring occasionally, or until golden.
2. Tip the tomatoes into the pan, then add the beans – juice and all – and one tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Bring to the boil, then trim and add the broccoli, halving any thicker stalks lengthways. Leave to simmer while you make the topping.
3. Strip the rosemary into a pestle and mortar and pound with a small pinch of sea salt, then peel and bash in the garlic. Finely grate in the lemon zest, then muddle in half the juice and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and season. Tear the bread into bite-size chunks and scrunch with the mixture.
4. Season the stew, then scatter the herby dressed bread over the top. Carefully transfer to the grill for five minutes, or until golden, bubbling and cooked through, then serve with lemon wedges, for squeezing over.
Pick’n’mix sushi rice bowls
We eat a version of this in my house every week, varying the kind of rice and greens. On top it’ll be an egg or tinned sardines, or we’ll splash out on a bit of English bluefin tuna from the fishmonger. If you are going to spend on expensive fish, sharing one big piece out like this is economical without feeling stingy.
Cook the sushi rice to packet instructions. Get a child to make the seasoning and stir it through the rice. We usually use Yutaka, which recommends three tablespoons of rice vinegar, two of sugar and a teaspoon of salt for 500g, a whole packet of rice. This is a good amount for four as everyone has seconds and it’s great the next day, too.
Now for the pick’n’mix part. The idea is to get something on the table for everyone, without actually cooking four different meals.
The pick’n’mix part of this meal gets everyone involved at dinnertimeFor jammy eggs, get your water boiling in a large pan and carefully lower in each egg. Give it six or six and a half minutes and cool immediately under a running tap or in a bowl of iced water.
I usually serve two kinds of greens, maybe the favourites of whoever’s eating, something to please each generation, such as edamame, broccoli or shredded cabbage.
Next comes the array of condiments, for which the only rule is go big or go home. I’ll get a few kinds of chilli sauce out, along with sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce and kimchi or some other kind of pickles.
Everyone serves themselves and no one is required to eat – or try – anything they don’t want to. I’m usually surprised by who ends up trying what.
Pork and pea meatballs with orzo and red sauce
Tiny meatballs for small hands and big appetites with a nod to North America, where my husband grew up, a land where red sauce is not ketchup but the classic Italian-American tomato sauce for pasta and meatballs.
Take a packet of sausages or sausage meat. Put this in a large bowl, emptying the sausage casings if necessary, and taste for seasoning. Some sausage meat comes well seasoned, but add salt and pepper and stir if yours does not.
Blitz one slice of bread and add to the bowl along with two small or one large clove of minced garlic and half a cup or 100g frozen peas. Let the children mix this all together with their hands then shape the mix into small meatballs, rolling each into a sphere in their palms. Aim for something not much bigger than a cherry tomato, as these cook quickly and are easy to spread through the orzo and sauce.
Use the biggest frying pan or heavy-bottomed saucepan you have. Add two or three tablespoons of olive oil on a medium-high heat and drop the tiny meatballs in as they’re ready, giving them a few minutes to firm up before attempting to move or turn them. Allow a child to do this if you judge them capable; the oil may spit a little and you may need to add more.
As the meatballs are small, they should be browned on a few sides after 10 minutes. Add a splash of vinegar to deglaze the pan and nudge any crispy bits from the bottom of the pan with your spatula.
Now add your tomatoes: two tins of chopped tomatoes and two tablespoons of tomato puree, and give everything a good stir, making sure the meatballs aren’t stuck to the bottom of the pan. Season well with salt, pepper, a slosh of red wine or balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of dried oregano.
Add at least 250g orzo to get a layer of it all around your pan. Stir, making sure that all the orzo is covered by the tomatoes. Add a tin of water if you need more liquid.
When the tomatoes are bubbling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Serve with lots of grated cheese – Cheddar or Parmesan both work well.
Fish Pie Pasta Bake by Jamie Oliver
Serves four
320g frozen spinach1 onion (160g)Olive oil300g dried macaroni pasta50g plain flour2 heaped teaspoons English mustard500ml semi-skimmed milk400g frozen fish pie mix, from sustainable sources100g Cheddar cheese2 red chicory60g rocketRed wine vinegarExtra virgin olive oil
This quick meal is highly nutritious (Photo: David Loftus)1. Turn the grill on to high. Boil the kettle. Defrost the spinach in a bowl in the microwave. Peel and finely chop the onion, and place in a large ovenproof frying pan on a high heat with one tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for five minutes, or until soft, stirring regularly. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water for eight minutes, until al dente, then drain, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water.
2. Stir the flour and mustard into the onions, then gradually stir in the milk. Add the spinach to the pan, water and all, then season to perfection. Stir in the fish chunks and simmer for another five minutes on a medium heat, then stir in the drained pasta, along with a splash of reserved water, if needed. Coarsely grate and mix in half the cheese, grating the rest over the top. Carefully transfer to the highest shelf of the grill for a few minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
3. Meanwhile, finely slice the chicory bases and separate the leaves, toss with the rocket and one tablespoon each of red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, then season. Serve with the fish pie pasta bake.
‘20 Minute Meals: Real Fast Food’ by Jamie Oliver is out now
Hence then, the article about four child friendly meals that adults love too from a food editor was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Four child-friendly meals that adults love too – from a food editor )
Also on site :
- In 1957, Ford launched the Edsel after spending $250 million developing it; two years later Ford discontinued it, having lost $350 million
- In 1948, William Rosenberg used $1,500 in war bonds and a $1,000 loan to open his first coffee shop; Dunkin’ Donuts later sold for $11.3 billion to Inspire Brand
- In 1889, Emile Zatarain began selling root beer from a New Orleans grocery; his family’s spice company sold to McCormick for $180 million in 2003