Children's Recipes

Bacon, sweet corn and potato cakes with a simple salad

Ingredients

4 strips of bacon

100g sweet corn

3 large potatoes peeled

5g parsley finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Boil the potatoes so that they soft and you can mash them.

2. Cut the bacon up into like pieces then grill or pan fry them until they are cooked then allow to cool.

3. Mash the potatoes and add all of the ingredient mix well then make balls in your hands with the mix then roll them in a little plain flour, so that the potato cake has a light coating. Place the cakes on a lightly greased baking tray with some vegetable oil.

4. Place in the oven at 180c for 15 to 20 minutes after 10 minutes turn them over

5. Serve with a nice simple salad of tomato lettuce and cucumber.

Prawn cocktail 

Ingredients

2 tbsp of mayonnaise

1 tbsp of tomato ketchup

50g of prawns shelled

4 cherry tomatoes

50g Lambs tongue leaves

2 wedges of lemon

50g Diced cucumber

1 slice of brown bread crusts cut off and cut into 4 triangles and lightly buttered

Salt and pepper

Method

1. In a bowl mix the ketchup, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and squeeze one lemon wedge mix well. Add cucumber, cherry tomatoes quartered and prawns mix in well.

2. Serve on top of the leaves in a bowl and garnish with the lemon wedge and the bread.

Homemade burgers

Ingredients

300g of fresh mince meat

½ white onion finely chopped

¼ red pepper finely chopped

¼ green pepper finely chopped

5g of fresh coriander finely chopped

5g of fresh parsley finely chopped

1 egg yolk

1 tsp of corn flour

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180c mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl by hand until mixed well then make balls as big as you like.

2. Place on a baking tray with baking paper on press the balls down so that they are not too thick 2cm is about right cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes turn after 10 minutes then serve with salad and homemade chips.

Homemade fish cakes served with cheesy broccoli and cauliflower with baked potato wedges and a homemade tomato sauce

Fish cakes

Ingredients

200g of fresh white fish without bones Haddock is best

100mls of milk

3 large potatoes peeled

5g of fresh parsley finely chopped

5g of fresh coriander finely chopped

½ a white onion finely chopped (lightly fry until soft)

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp of cold water in a bowl

1 cup of bread crumbs

20g of plain flour in a bowl

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Boil the potatoes until they are mashablethen drain and set aside for 5 minutes then mash with a little butter salt and pepper.

2. Place the fish in a microwavable dish with the milk and cook in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes then remove the fish from the dish and add to the potato. Add everything else apart from the bread crumbs and egg yolk and mix in well.

3. Roll the mix into balls then pat down to make cakes coat in the flour then the egg mix then the bread crumbs.

4. Place on a baking tray that has been lightly vegetable oiled then place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes and turn after 10 minutes turn.

5. When the bread crumbs are golden brown remove and serve with vegetables and the homemade tomato sauce.

Baked wedges

Ingredients

4 small potatoes

30mls of Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Quarter the potatoes into wedges place in a baking tray and drizzle the oil over the top then season with salt and pepper.

2. Place in the oven at 180c for 30 to 40 minutes turn regularly until the potatoes are soft on the inside but golden brown on the outside.

Cheesy broccoli and cauliflower

Ingredients

2 florets of broccoli

2 florets of cauliflower

30g of cheese

Method

1. Boil or steam the broccoli and cauliflower until they are cooked but still have a bit to them.

2. Place the broccoli and cauliflower into a oven prove dish sprinkle the cheese over the top the bake in the oven at 180c for 5 to 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and brown a little then serve.

Homemade tomato sauce

Ingredient

5 normal tomatoes

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoons butter

½ onion, chopped finely

½ red pepper chopped finely

1 carrot peeled finely diced

2 cloves of garlic crushed

10g of basil

1 tsp of white wine vinager

1 stalk of celery finely diced

1 tbsp tomato puree

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Place the tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove and place in ice water. Leave to rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel cut into eight remove the seed and stalk.

2. In large thick bottomed pan place all of the ingredients in apart from the basil, cook over a low heat covered and let the mix simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are soft then add the basil cook for a further 10 minutes then set aside.

3. Once the mix is cooled a little very carefully blend with a soup stick check seasoning then bring back to boil then turn off and allow to cool.

4. This sauce can be served hot or cold.

Crunchy chicken strips, vegetable stir fry and rice with sweet and sour sauce 

Crunchy chicken

Ingredients

1 chicken breast

10mls of olive oil

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp of cold water

1 cup of bread crumbs

20g of plain flour

Method

1. Cut the chicken breast into 4 strips or 5 if big hit gently with a meat hammer so that they flatten to about 1cm thick.

2. Dip the chicken in the flour then the egg mix then coat with bread crumbs. Place on a baking tray drizzle with the oil cook in the oven at 180c for 10 to 15 minutes turn after 5 minutes. Remove from the oven when the bread crumbs are golden brown.

(Note cut one in half before you serve to check that the chicken is cooked)

Vegetable stir fry

Ingredients

20mls of olive oil

½ an onion sliced

½ a red pepper sliced

½ a green pepper sliced

¼ of courgette cut into battened strips

3 mushrooms sliced length ways

1 carrot peeled and battened

100g of rice boiled and cooked

Method

1. In a wok or large frying pan place the oil allow to get hot then add all the vegetables apart from the courgette and mushrooms.

2. Once the vegetables start to become a little soft then add the mushrooms and courgettes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Then add the rice and mix in well then serve with the chicken.

Seasonal fruit salad with ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce

Ingredients

1 apple cored and diced

1 orange peeled and segmented

2 plums quartered

1 peach diced

20mls of fresh orange juice

30mls of pineapple juice

100g milk chocolate

¼ tsp of ground ginger

Ice cream vanilla

Method

1. Place all of the fruit in a bowl with the pineapple juice and mix well.

2. Place some of the fruit in and juice in the bowl that you want to serve the fruit salad in.

3. To make the chocolate sauce place a heat proof bowl over a pan of hot water then place the chocolate in and melt gentle stirring from time to time then add the orange juice and ginger and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Place a spoon full of the ice cream on top of the fruit then drizzle the chocolate sauce over the ice cream and fruit

Fresh fruity berry yogurt pots

Ingredients

1 pot of plain yoghurt

30g of icing sugar

½ a lemon juiced

50g of white chocolate

2 tbsp of crème fraiche

100g any frozen or fresh berries (Raspberries work the best)

Method

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water, once melted remove and add all the other ingredients apart from the berries and mix until smooth.

2. In a tumbler glass place a spoon full of the berries then a couple of spoonfuls of the chocolate mix then berries repeat this a couple of time but all ways make sure that you finish with the berries on top.

3. Then place in the fridge to set for 2 to3 hours then serve with a sprinkle of icing sugar.

Homemade Lemonade

6 x large lemons

150g granulated sugar

1.4 litres of water

1. Scrub the lemons in warm water and then thinly pare the colored outer zest from 3 of them using a potato peeler or zester. After that any white pith will need to be pared from the strips of zest with a sharp knife – this is important to prevent the lemonade tasting bitter. Now put the zest in a large bowl and add the squeezed juice of all the lemons (don't bother to strain the juice at this stage) and the sugar.

2. Next pour in 2½ pints (1.4 litres) of boiling water, then stir well, cover and leave overnight in a cool place. Next day stir again and taste to check the sweetness, adding a little more sugar if it needs it. Now strain through a fairly coarse sieve, as it's nice if some of the lemon remains. Pour it into bottles, then chill thoroughly.

3. Serve the lemonade either straight or diluted with soda water, with lots of ice

Recipes From the Med

Oven roasted red mullet in a saffron and mint oil

Ingredients

4 fillets of Red Mullet

3 cloves of garlic crushed

2 tbsp of olive oil

½ gram of saffron powder

Salt and pepper

In a bowl place the olive oil garlic and the saffron powder and mix together. Then set aside for an hour. (this is that the flavours bind). Lightly oil a baking tray place the fish on it skin down then season with salt and pepper. Then glaze the top of the fish with the oil bake in the oven or under a grill fo 5 to 10 minutes on 200c. To serve place on a plate and garnish with a sprig of basil or parsley.

Herb crushed spring potatoes

500g of new pots diced or cut in half if they are small

10g of roughly chopped basil

10g of roughly chopped parsley

10g of roughly chopped mint

A little olive oil salt and pepper

Either boil or steam the potatoes until they are just soft then drain and set aside. Place the potatoess in roasting tray season with the oil, salt and pepper then mix in all the herbs place in the oven for 10 minutes. Mixing gently every 2 or 3 minutes then remove and serve with the fish on the plate.

Buttered asparagus and grilled garlic seasoned aubergine

Ingredients

10 spears of asparagus

1 large or 2 small aubergines slice thinly lengthways

Place the sliced aubergine on a baking tray drizzle with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Place under the grill until they are lightly browned on both sides and serve.
Either boil or steam the asparagus until they have a slight bite to them then place in a bowl with the butter on top season with a little black pepper then cover until the butter has melted then serve with the rest of the dish.

Traditional chestnut chocolate torte

Ingredients

150g almonds whole (chopped if possible)

150g chestnuts, whole (chopped if possible)

300g of dark chocolate 70% coco

250g of unsalt butter

100g caster sugar

1 teaspoon of coco powder

6 eggs separated into bowls(make sure that no yolk is in the egg white bowl)

salt

Preheat oven to 190c. Lightly butter the bottom and the sides of a 20cm/8inch tin then line with grease proof paper. (loose bottom tin is best) Place the nuts into a food processor until finely ground. Add the chocolate and cocoa, mix for 30 seconds to break the chocolate up. Put to one side in a separate bowl.Add the butter and sugar to the food processor and beat until pale and fluffy. At this point, add the egg yolks one at a time, mix together with the chocolate and nuts. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt, until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold in the egg whites into the chocolate, butter and nut mix. Pour all the mixture into the tin then cook in the oven for 40 minutes to an hour. Until you can stick a knife into the centre and it is clean of mixture when removed then set aside.

Fresh grilled Sardines

Ingredients

10 small boned and butter flied sardines

1 lemon juiced

5g finely chopped chives

5g finely chopped parsley

5g finely chopped basil

3 cloves of garlic crushed

Pepper

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar

50g of rocket

Lay the sardines on a baking tray lightly season and drizzle with olive oil. Mixed all the other ingredients apart from the rocket and balsamic vinegar together. Sprinkle the mix over the sardines and then place under a hot grill for 5 to 10 minutes until cooked. On a plate place the rocket leaves in the centre and dress with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then place the sardines around the plate and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Pan fried Sea Bass stacked on buttered leeks with sauce hollandaise

Ingredients

2 large egg yolks

1 dessert spoon lemon juice

1 dessertspoon white wine vinegar

110g butter (melted)

100g butter

2 large leeks cut into ½ cm thick rings

Place the leeks into a saucepan add the non-melted butter and some ground pepper place on a medium heat and cook until the looks like it has all gone and the leeks stick together and set aside. For sauce place the egg yolks, white wine vinegar and lemon juice in a bowl whisk them together. Melt the butter then allow to cool for 3 minutes then pour the butter gradually into the eggs mix while whisking until the butter has all been mixed in. Then season with a little salt and black ground pepper. With the pan that had butter in fill with water and place back on the hob on a low heat the place the bowl of mix on top and whisk on a genital heat for 10 minutes until the sauce starter to thicken the remove from the heat and set aside. Place the Sea Bass on a lightly oil tray season with salt and pepper and place under the grill for 5 to 10 minutes until cooked. To serve place the leeks in the centre of the plate then place the fillet on top and spoon some of the sauce on and around the fish.

Seasonal fruits and ice cream

200g castor sugar

3 apples cored and cut into 12 slices

6 plums stoned and quartered

3 pears cored and cut into 12 slices

3 oranges pealed and segmented (save the centre of the oranges for the juice)

1 tub of vanilla ice cream

Using a non stick pan squeeze the orange centres into the pan, sprinkle half of the sugar and cook until the sugar has dissolved and the alcohol heats up and then ignite (be careful). Add the apples and pears and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the plums and orange segments and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over cook until the fruit are soft and the juice is syrupy. In a bowl place the fruit and some of the juice and then spoon the some of the ice cream on top sprinkle with a little icing sugar and serve

Grilled Sea Bass served on baked wild mushrooms and garlic wtih a tomato and tarragon sauce

Ingredients

4 fillets of Sea bass

8 cloves garlic

100g wild mushrooms

5g fresh tarragon

1 white onion

1 red pepper

5g freshly chopped parsley

Salt & pepper

8 tomatoes peeled, de seeded and roughly chopped

To make the sauce finely chop onion and pepper and sweat off for 5 minutes until the onion is soft, add the garlic, tomatoes, tarragon and parsley. Cook for 10 minutes then blend with a soup stick to get a nearly smooth consistency and season to taste. Place the wild mushrooms and 6 cloves of garlic peeled on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes on 180c. De scale and fillet the Sea bass, place on a lightly oiled baking tray, lightly season with salt and pepper, cook under the grill for 5 to 10 minutes until the Sea bass skin crisps up and the flesh becomes firm to the touch. To serve place the mushrooms and garlic in the centre of the plate and place the fillets of Sea bass overlapping on top of the mushrooms and the sauce around the fish.

Moule Marinere

Ingredients

1kg mussels

2 white onions finely chopped

20g freshly chopped parsley

10g freshly chopped chives

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

200mls of Muscat wine or sweet white wine

Freshly ground black pepper

200mls of single cream

1g of saffron powder

Wash and de beard mussels. Place onions and garlic in a heavy based lidded saucepan on a low heat sweat off until soft. Once the onions are soft add the wine and turn up the heat and reduce the wine until it has nearly all gone and then add mussels and place the lid on and cook for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes remove the lid check that the mussels have started to open slightly, then add the herbs, cream, saffron and pepper give a good mix around, replace the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes. After 5 minutes check that the cream has started to thicken up a little and the mussels are opened fully. Serve in large bowls with lots fresh bread.

Poached Figs served with a crema Catalana

4 fresh figs cut into quarters

6 egg yolks

500mls of cream

150g caster sugar

100mls of milk semi or full fat

100mls orange juice

1 vanilla pod or ½ tsp of vanilla extract

Place the cream, milk and vanilla extract in a sauce pan and bring to a gentle simmer but not to the boil after 5 minutes remove from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. In a bowl place the eggs and 100g of the sugar and whisk together until the mixture turns white in colour, add the milk and cream mixture gradually once all the liquid has been mixed in, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir gently for 10 minutes then cover and place in the fridge for 3 hours to chill. In a saucepan heat up the brandy and ignite, once the alcohol has burnt off add orange juice and the remaining sugar. Bring up to the boil then turn down to a very gentle simmer then add the figs and cook for 5 minutes. Once a syrupy mixture has been formed set aside for 2 minutes. To serve spoon a couple of large serving spoons of the crème anglaise mixture onto a deep plate then place the figs in the centre and a couple of tbsp of the syrup mixture over the top and garnish with a sprig of mint.