kitchen
Experience I RECIPE
Kids in the kitchen Donna Hay’s new cookbook offers a crash course in cooking for children WORDS NOLA JAMES
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Experience I RECIPE
C
hef and author Donna Hay drew on personal experience for her new cookbook, Basics to Brilliance Kids. “With two boys of my own, I’m very used to cooking and experimenting with foods kids love to eat,” she says. Donna’s new book is the companion to a TV series of the same name (currently screening on Foxtel) and she was able to test the 120 easy-toprepare family friendly recipes in the cookbook with the assistance of the pint-sized co-chefs who appeared in the show. “The heart of [it] is all about taking those tried and tested favourites – including ones I’ve cooked for my own boys! – then giving them a healthy change-up,” says Donna. The book aims to get kids into the kitchen while changing the perception that healthy food is boring – catering for school fairs, movie nights, picnics and sleepovers with less sugar and more sneaky wholefoods. “It was incredible to see how kids perceived foods they had never encountered before; there was certainly a curiosity and appreciation for the final product once they had been taken along the journey,” she says. Recipes put a healthy spin on simple meals that kids (and grown-ups) love to eat, including everything from cheat’s pizzas with wholegrains and
Great job!
INGREDIENTS
vegetables to chocolate peanut slice with dates and healthy yoghurt pannacotta, with plenty of variations to encourage experimentation in the kitchen. Donna’s inspiration comes from cooking from a young age. “The first thing I remember cooking is lemon curd with my nana (sic),” she says, “I don’t think I was a fussy eater, but I did hate eggs and overcooked vegetables!”
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BASICS TO BRILLIANCE
kids
Media Release
Basics to Brilliance Kids (RRP $45) is available from good bookstores.
Nacho bowls METHOD Preheat oven to 180°C. Arrange 4 tall ramekins upside-down on a baking tray. Using a pastry brush, brush 4 of the tortillas with oil and place them, oil-side down, over the ramekins. Set aside. • Line a baking tray with nonstick baking paper. Brush the remaining 2 tortillas with oil and place them flat, with the oil-side up, on the prepared tray. Bake all of the tortillas for 8 minutes or until they’re nice and brown. Wearing oven gloves, carefully remove the trays from the oven and allow to cool (the tortillas will become crisp as they cool). • To make the filling, place the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, zucchini and pumpkin or carrot and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or until the onion is brown and super soft. • Add the cumin, coriander and paprika and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes (you’ll begin to smell the fragrant spices in the air). • Add the tomatoes, passata and beans and cook, stirring,
• 6 x 20cm wholemeal flour tortillas • extra virgin olive oil, for brushing • ¾ cup grated cheddar • 1 avocado, peeled and chopped NACHO FILLING • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped • ½ cup finely grated zucchini • 1 cup grated pumpkin or carrot • 1 tsp ground cumin • 1 tsp ground coriander • ½ tsp smoked paprika • 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes • 180ml (¾ cup) tomato passata • 1 x 400g can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained • 1–2 tsp maple syrup • salt and cracked black pepper, to taste for another 5-6 minutes or until thick. Add the maple syrup, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. • Take the tortillas from the ramekins, spoon the nacho filling into the bowls and top with the cheese and avocado (plus a squeeze of lime, if desired). Break pieces of your bowl and scoop up the filling. Slice or break the flat tortillas into extra crispy dipping chips.
35
Kids in the kitchen Donna Hay’s new cookbook offers a crash course in cooking for children WORDS NOLA JAMES
34
Experience I RECIPE
C
hef and author Donna Hay drew on personal experience for her new cookbook, Basics to Brilliance Kids. “With two boys of my own, I’m very used to cooking and experimenting with foods kids love to eat,” she says. Donna’s new book is the companion to a TV series of the same name (currently screening on Foxtel) and she was able to test the 120 easy-toprepare family friendly recipes in the cookbook with the assistance of the pint-sized co-chefs who appeared in the show. “The heart of [it] is all about taking those tried and tested favourites – including ones I’ve cooked for my own boys! – then giving them a healthy change-up,” says Donna. The book aims to get kids into the kitchen while changing the perception that healthy food is boring – catering for school fairs, movie nights, picnics and sleepovers with less sugar and more sneaky wholefoods. “It was incredible to see how kids perceived foods they had never encountered before; there was certainly a curiosity and appreciation for the final product once they had been taken along the journey,” she says. Recipes put a healthy spin on simple meals that kids (and grown-ups) love to eat, including everything from cheat’s pizzas with wholegrains and
Great job!
INGREDIENTS
vegetables to chocolate peanut slice with dates and healthy yoghurt pannacotta, with plenty of variations to encourage experimentation in the kitchen. Donna’s inspiration comes from cooking from a young age. “The first thing I remember cooking is lemon curd with my nana (sic),” she says, “I don’t think I was a fussy eater, but I did hate eggs and overcooked vegetables!”
— —
BASICS TO BRILLIANCE
kids
Media Release
Basics to Brilliance Kids (RRP $45) is available from good bookstores.
Nacho bowls METHOD Preheat oven to 180°C. Arrange 4 tall ramekins upside-down on a baking tray. Using a pastry brush, brush 4 of the tortillas with oil and place them, oil-side down, over the ramekins. Set aside. • Line a baking tray with nonstick baking paper. Brush the remaining 2 tortillas with oil and place them flat, with the oil-side up, on the prepared tray. Bake all of the tortillas for 8 minutes or until they’re nice and brown. Wearing oven gloves, carefully remove the trays from the oven and allow to cool (the tortillas will become crisp as they cool). • To make the filling, place the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, zucchini and pumpkin or carrot and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or until the onion is brown and super soft. • Add the cumin, coriander and paprika and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes (you’ll begin to smell the fragrant spices in the air). • Add the tomatoes, passata and beans and cook, stirring,
• 6 x 20cm wholemeal flour tortillas • extra virgin olive oil, for brushing • ¾ cup grated cheddar • 1 avocado, peeled and chopped NACHO FILLING • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped • ½ cup finely grated zucchini • 1 cup grated pumpkin or carrot • 1 tsp ground cumin • 1 tsp ground coriander • ½ tsp smoked paprika • 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes • 180ml (¾ cup) tomato passata • 1 x 400g can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained • 1–2 tsp maple syrup • salt and cracked black pepper, to taste for another 5-6 minutes or until thick. Add the maple syrup, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. • Take the tortillas from the ramekins, spoon the nacho filling into the bowls and top with the cheese and avocado (plus a squeeze of lime, if desired). Break pieces of your bowl and scoop up the filling. Slice or break the flat tortillas into extra crispy dipping chips.
35
