Are your kids growing up fast and wanting to play chef in the big leagues? Cater to their sophisticated palates with our selection of 10 delicious recipes to cook and enjoy together, after which they can proudly boast: “I made that!”

SERVES 4

See the glass of rice half full with our Vietnamese spin on the popular Laotian classic, crispy rice! Rice, eggs, and a little shredded coconut – it takes very little, yet the crispiness levels are off the charts!

INGREDIENTS

500 g jasmine rice - 2 eggs - 1 onion - 1 shallot - 100 g fresh shredded coconut - 100 g Vietnamese coriander - 50 g mint leaves - 10 g fish sauce - 5 g lime juice - oil for frying - freshly ground pepper

RECIPE

1. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions, then drain and leave to cool.

2. Finely chop the onion and shallot.

3. Beat the eggs together in a mixing bowl, then add the shredded coconut, rice, and chopped onion. Mix together with lightly oiled hands.

4. Shape the rice into small balls and flatten into patties.

5. Heat the oil in a fryer or a deep pan for deep frying.

6. Once the oil is hot, gently add the flattened rice balls and fry until crispy and golden brown.

7. Remove and leave to drain on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.

8. Put the rice balls in a different mixing bowl, then add the shallot and some freshly ground pepper. Use a spoon to crumble up the mixture.

9. Once the rice is broken up, roughly chop the mint and Vietnamese coriander, then add it to the rice.

10. Season with the fish sauce and lime juice, before serving on a pretty dish. Now dig in!

SERVES 4

In this family favorite, a whole medley of tasty veg (zucchini, broccoli, peas) comes together in one simple, colorful dish that can’t be beaten.

INGREDIENTS

1 broccoli - 1 zucchini - 80 g baby spinach - 75 g peas - 1 onion - 2 garlic cloves - 100 g cherry tomatoes - 40 g preserved lemon (or the zest of 1 lemon) - 60 g chickpeas - 8 eggs - 80 g chimichurri sauce - 80 g smoked or salted butter - 80 g feta - 20 ml olive oil - 1 baguette - 1 handful of pea shoots

RECIPE

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C/482°F.
2. Set a pan over a medium heat, add 20 ml of olive oil, and leave to heat for 30 seconds.

3. Add the chopped onion and garlic, then cook for two minutes, without coloring.

4. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for another minute.

5. Add the shaved broccoli and cook for a further two minutes, stirring gently.

6. Add the grated zucchini and cook for a further two minutes.

7. Add ¾ of the smoked butter and leave to melt while stirring gently.

8. Add the chimichurri sauce, cooked peas, preserved lemon, and baby spinach. Cook for one minute.

9. Remove the pan from the heat.

10. Divide the mixture into individual cast iron ramekins. Make two little dips in each and break an egg into each one.

11. Cook in the oven for four to five minutes, until the mixture is bubbling slightly and the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny. While the shakshukas are cooking, cut the bread into slices and spread with the remaining butter.

12. Remove the shakshuka from the oven, sprinkle with crumbled feta, fried chickpeas, and pea shoots.

MAKES 2 PIZZAS

Making pizza from scratch is a really fun activity to do with kids. Knead, stretch, garnish, and bake... before gobbling up every last crumb! This recipe combines moreish mushrooms with gooey mozzarella, proving that getting your hands dirty has never been so much fun!

INGREDIENTS

For the pizza dough: 300 g T45 or 00 flour - 190 g lukewarm water - 2 g fresh yeast (or 0.7 g dry active yeast) - 8 g salt

For the topping: 300 g mushrooms (button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and shitakes, or even ceps, girolles, or sweet tooth mushrooms) - 250 g fior di latte mozzarella - 20 g grated parmesan - 12 g fresh garlic - 35 g fresh parsley - 175 g olive oil

RECIPE

1. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the yeast in 80% of the water, then add this mixture to the flour.

2. Knead together to form a ball. Add a little water if needed, but the dough shouldn’t be too sticky.

3. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Then add the salt and knead again to ensure it is evenly distributed.

4. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with a damp dishcloth. Leave to rest for one hour at room temperature.

5. Split the dough into two equal-sized balls, return to the bowl and cover. Leave to rest in the fridge for 24 hours.

6. Remove from the fridge one hour before cooking.

7. Peel the garlic, cut the parsley, and mix together to create a loose persillade.

8. Cut the mozzarella and mushrooms into thin slices.

9. Sauté the mushrooms together in a pan (at first without any oil, before adding a little olive oil after three or four minutes) until fully cooked.

10. Preheat the oven to its highest heat. If you have a pizza stone, put this in the oven so it heats up too.

11. Put the two balls of dough on a lightly floured work surface. Use your fingertips to gently stretch the dough, one ball at a time, starting from the center and working your way outwards.

12. Sprinkle each pizza base with the mushrooms, drizzle with the persillade, and then add the mozzarella and parmesan.

13. Bake in the oven until the dough is slightly golden and the mozzarella has melted.

SERVES 4

What could be more comforting than a pie hot out of the oven? Not much. And when the weather is acting up, this recipe ticks all the boxes when it comes to comfort food. Just imagine a flaky pastry encasing a mixture of potatoes, zucchini, onions, and black truffle miso….

INGREDIENTS

500 g puff pastry - 2 egg yolks - 5 large potatoes - 2 large zucchini - 3 onions - 50 g black truffle miso - 1 bunch of parsley - 1 bunch of basil - Maldon salt - brined green peppercorns

RECIPE

1. Use a mandoline to slice the potatoes and zucchini into thin rounds, and the onions into thin strips.

2. In a cake tin, alternate layers of zucchini, potatoes, and onions until no vegetables remain, seasoning each layer with Maldon salt and green peppercorns. Spread a layer of black truffle miso and a sprinkling of fresh herbs every three layers.

3. Next, roll out the pastry on a work surface until three to four millimeters thick.

4. Overturn the cake tin onto the pastry and remove the vegetable layers. Brush the pastry with egg yolk then fold the pastry edge over the filling, then close to make a pie. Leave to chill in the fridge for thirty minutes.

5. Brush the pie with the remaining egg yolk and score the crust with the design of your choice.

6. Cook in the oven at 170°C/338°F for around 1 hour 15 minutes. Leave to sit for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

SERVES 4

Your little chickies will be taking their egg-cooking game to the next level with this grown-up version of baked eggs, here pimped up with cauliflower purée and some mighty soldiers. Eggs-cellent stuff!

INGREDIENTS

600 g cauliflower - 600 g raw cream - 4 eggs - butter - milk - Bread - bottarga - chives - fig leaf oil - salt - pepper

RECIPE

1. Cut the cauliflower into small florets (keep some aside for decoration at the end). Sweat the cauliflower in butter, season with salt then cook in a little milk. Once cooked, drain and mix with the raw cream in a food mixer.

2. Add a dollop of cauliflower purée in the base of each ramequin, make little dips in the purée before cracking in an egg and covering with more purée. Cook for five minutes in a bain marie.

3. Meanwhile, cut two slices of bread each into four soldiers. Add butter to a pan and fry the soldiers until golden.

4. Remove the ramequins from the oven. Drizzle in fig leaf oil, grated raw cauliflower, and a sprinkling of finely chopped chives and grated bottarga. Serve each ramequin with two soldiers and enjoy!

SERVES 1

Do your little fishies want to swim off to the open water? Reel them back in with a plate of nostalgia, as there’s nothing like some breaded fish to invigorate them after a day at sea. Imagine tuna, deliciously coated in panko, tender on the inside, crunchy on the outside, topped with a dressing mixing soy sauce, mirin, garlic, and ginger. They’re sure to take the bait!

INGREDIENTS

For the breaded tuna: 150 g tuna loin - 1 egg - 50 g flour - 50 g panko breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp soy sauce - neutral oil

For the sauce: 20 g butter - 2 tbsp soy sauce - 2 tbsp mirin - 2 tbsp sake - 2 tbsp sugar - ½ tsp grated ginger - ½ tsp minced garlic

Presentation: ½ bunch of finely chopped chives - toasted sesame seeds (optional) - freshly ground pepper

RECIPE

1. In a pan, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce – except for the butter. Bring to the boil and set aside.

2. Take a deep pan and heat the cooking oil to 180°C/356°F.

3. Lightly beat the egg. Dip the tuna in the soy sauce, then in the flour, then the egg and the panko. Fry the fish for two minutes and leave to rest for one minute, keeping the oil hot.

4. Heat the butter in a pan to make brown butter, then add the sauce mixture and mix well. When it becomes syrupy, remove from the heat.

5. Fry the fish again for another two minutes so that the breading is nice and crispy.

6. Slice the tuna into 1.5 to 2-centimeter chunks, plate, and drizzle with the sauce. Finish with some freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of chives and sesame seeds. Enjoy!

SERVES 1

The one and only! This bistro classic is easy to recreate at home – as long as it’s all hands on deck to help peel the potatoes, while you get your mitts on a juicy rib steak, plus some greens in the way of chives. A quick flash in the pan and voilà!

INGREDIENTS

2 bintje potatoes (slightly wrinkled)- 1 rib steak (300 g) - 1 chive stem - a pinch of oregano - a pinch of salt flakes - pepper - sea salt

RECIPE

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into equal-sized fries. Dry them using a tea towel.

2. Fry them in a fryer (the oil must be heated to 170°C/338°F) until they start to color, then remove and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

3. Fry again a second time.

4. Drain on paper towels and season with salt flakes and oregano.

5. Season the meat with sea salt and then sear in a very hot pan with a bit of oil.

6. Once the meat begins to caramelize, remove from the heat, season with pepper, salt flakes, and some jus de viande, or the meat’s cooking juices (to make this, roast meat trimmings in an oven heated to over 200°C/392°F).

7. Finely chop the chive stem and sprinkle over the cooked meat.

SERVES 4

On a hot summer’s day, there’s one thing we’re all in the mood for, and that’s this tomato and smoked watermelon salad - its eye-catching bright red tones leave us drooling in anticipation. Pssst! The chili paste is optional... unless you want to set mouths on fire!

INGREDIENTS

500 g tomatoes - ½ small watermelon - 2 small Anglet chili peppers or peppers - 1 shallot - 15 chive stems - 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar - 1 tsp olive oil - 2 or 3 tbsp cider vinegar - salt - pepper - Espelette pepper - 1 dash of red wine - 3 tsp fermented chili paste - fresh herbs

RECIPE

1. Cut the watermelon into small chunks. Dehydrate half by cooking in the oven at the lowest temperature setting, for at least three hours, until the chunks are wrinkly and have reduced to half their size.

2. The remaining half of the watermelon is to be smoked. To do this at home, you’ll need a metal biscuit tin. Place the watermelon in one corner of the tin. In the other corner, light a full box of matches and cover it with sawdust. Close the lid tightly and leave to smoke. Once cool, remove the watermelon.

3. Cut the tomatoes into large chunks and put them in a large bowl.

4. Thinly slice the Anglet chili peppers and add to the bowl.

5. Finely chop the shallot and chives and add to the bowl.

6. Season with salt, Espelette pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, two tablespoons of cider vinegar, the watermelon, red wine, pepper, and fermented tomato juice (or another tablespoon of cider vinegar).

7. Lightly toss together and serve.

8. On each plate, add a spoonful of fermented chili paste and some fresh herbs, such as wild fennel blossoms or basil from the garden.

SERVES 4

Roast chicken isn’t only for Sundays! Especially when you can give it an Italian twist by stuffing it with lardo di Calonnata for that extra wow factor. Patience, little ones, as it comes out of the oven – it’s tasty but hot!

INGREDIENTS

1 small free-range chicken - 350 g lardo di Colonnata - 3 garlic cloves - A few sprigs of rosemary - 1 handful of wild fennel or 30 g fennel seeds

RECIPE

1. Chop the lardo di Caolonnata into chunks. Add them to the mixer with the rosemary, garlic, and fennel. Mix until smooth. This is your porchetta stuffing.

2. Take your whole chicken. With its legs pointing towards you, use your fingers to gently loosen the skin from the meat, from the breasts all the way to the legs.

3. Use your fingers to spread a generous layer of porchetta stuffing under the skin. Put any leftover stuffing inside the cavity.

4. Truss the chicken.

5. Roast in the oven at 220°C/428°F for 10 minutes, then for a further 25 minutes at 175°C/347°F.

6. Remove and serve!

SERVES 10

Chinese noodles and pork belly doused in a delicious sauce? Some crunchy toppings (cucumber, radish, carrot) and fresh herbs? Say no more, and everyone will be at the table in 3, 2, 1...

INGREDIENTS

Your choice of Chinese noodles (not too thick) - 500 g pork belly (lean meat and the fat, skin removed) - 200 g sweet soybean paste - 200 g soybean paste - 120 g shallot - 40 g sugar - 10 g ginger - 2 star anise - 1 chive stem - 100 ml Shaoxing wine (or sake) - 2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil - Crunchy toppings (cucumber, carrot, radish, bean sprouts) - Fresh herbs (chives, cilantro)

RECIPE

1. Mix the two types of soybean paste with the Shaoxing wine. Set aside.

2. Thinly slice the shallot, mince the ginger, and cut the chive stem into 5 cm lengths.

3. Cut the meat into cubes (½ cm for the lean meat, 1 cm for the fat) then put the fat in a frying pan and cook over a low heat with a little vegetable oil, until nice and golden. Remove from the pan.

4. Using the same frying pan, brown the shallot and chives for three minutes over a low heat, then add the ginger and cook for 15 seconds.

5. Add the soybean paste and Shaoxing wine mixture, the pork (both the lean meat and the fried fat), the sugar, and the star anise. Leave to simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes, uncovered and stirring from time to time. The sauce is now done!

6. To prepare the toppings: julienne the carrots and cucumber, and slice the radish into thin rounds. Share the noodles between the bowls, add a tablespoon of sauce, the vegetables, and fresh herbs. Then simply mix together and tuck in!

Thank you to Fooding for these recipes. Fooding is an independent brand.

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