cooking with children

This recipe is part of Food Editor Barney's 'cooking with kids' series. Here, Barney and his daughter Maisie make chicken skewers with peanut sauce

Chicken satay

ginger

garlic

lime

tsp clear honey

soy sauce

tbsp mild curry powder

peanut butter

pack skinless chicken breast

coconut milk

vegetable oil

cooked rice and lime wedges,

cucumber

tbsp white wine vinegar

golden caster sugar

sweet chilli sauce (optional)

coriander leaves picked (optional)

KIDS the writing in bold is for you. GROWN-UPS the rest is for you. Make a yummy marinade. Peel the ginger and help them to finely grate it and tip it into a bowl. Repeat with the garlic and lime zest. Halve the lime and get your child to juice it, then mix it in a bowl with the honey, soy, curry powder and peanut butter. Get them to give it a good mix, adding a small splash of water if it’s too stiff, then help them spoon two-thirds of the mix into a small pan. Set aside for Step 4.

Now for some chicken bashing! Put the chicken in the sandwich bag, one breast at a time, getting your child to flatten each one with a rolling pin or a meat mallet – this isn’t essential, but they like doing it.

Mix the chicken with the marinade you made. Cut the chicken into strips, tip it into the remaining third of the peanut-butter mix, then get your child to stir well. Cover with cling film and chill until required. This can be done up to 3 hrs ahead.

Cook your tasty sauce. While the chicken is marinating, pour the coconut milk into the pan and get your child to stir together with the peanut butter mix. The sauce needs to be heated gently and stirred – suitable for confident seven- or eight-year olds, under strict adult supervision.

'Sew' the chicken onto the skewers. The chicken needs to be threaded into ‘S’ shapes onto the skewers. Get your child to thread the skewers away from themselves, being careful of the sharp points. Younger ones might find this a little fiddly, so they could just push on small chunks.

Paint the tray with oil and cook the chicken. Heat the grill to high and get your child to brush a baking tray with oil. They can then line up the skewers on the tray. Grill the skewers for about 10 mins, turning occasionally, until lightly charred.

Make cucumber ribbons with a peeler. Using a swivel-blade peeler, get your child to peel the cucumber into a bowl, then carry on peeling the cucumber flesh into ribbons until they get to the seeds. Repeat with each side of the cucumber.

Mix a dressing for the cucumber. Get your child to mix the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves – explain what dissolves means. Add the sweet chilli, if using, then pour over the cucumber. Add coriander if your child likes it, or serve on the side for the grown-ups. To serve, put the skewers on a platter, the sauce and salad in bowls, and serve with rice and lime wedges on the side.

Let little hands stir, roll and cut out the shapes, then sandwich with strawberry jam for fun, fruity biscuits

Jammy dodger flowers

strawberry jam

unsalted butter

caster sugar

vanilla paste

plain flour

To make the biscuits, mix together the butter and sugar in a bowl with a wooden spoon until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla, and continue to beat by hand until fully incorporated. You will need to scrape the edges of the bowl down for this part.

Tip the flour into the mixture and fold together until fully combined, then shape into a ball. Roll the dough out onto a floured sheet of baking parchment to a depth of around 5mm. Transfer the sheet to a baking tray and put in the fridge for 10 mins to firm up.

Remove from the fridge and press out your biscuits using a 6cm flower-shaped cutter (you could use any shaped cutters to make these). You will need 16 base biscuits and 16 top biscuits, with small holes or flowers of around 3cm cut out of them.

Recombine your dough off-cuts and reroll them on a floured surface. Try to be fairly quick doing this, as the mixture will warm up and get sticky. If it does, just pop it back in the fridge to firm up again.

Once the shapes are cut out, arrange on 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment and leave to cool in the fridge for 10 mins.

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Bake the biscuits for 7 mins, then take them out of the oven and sprinkle the tops with caster sugar. Return all the biscuits to the oven and cook for a further 5 mins. Take out and allow to cool fully on a wire rack. When cool, spread jam on the bottom biscuit and top with another biscuit, sandwiching them together. Will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Kids will love to help assemble this easiest ever pasta bake with streaky bacon, beef mince, a crème fraîche sauce and gooey mozzarella

Easy classic lasagne

olive oil

rashers smoked streaky bacon

onion

celery stick, finely chopped

carrot

beef mince

tomato purée

tomatoes

tbsp clear honey

pack fresh egg lasagne sheets

fraîche

ball mozzarella

freshly grated parmesan

basil leaves

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Use kitchen scissors to snip the bacon into small pieces, or use a sharp knife to chop it on a chopping board. Add the bacon to the pan and cook for just a few mins until starting to turn golden. Add the onion, celery and carrot, and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 min, then tip in the mince and cook, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for about 6 mins until browned all over.

Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 min, mixing in well with the beef and vegetables. Tip in the chopped tomatoes. Fill each can half full with water to rinse out any tomatoes left in the can, and add to the pan. Add the honey and season to taste. Simmer for 20 mins.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. To assemble the lasagne, ladle a little of the ragu sauce into the bottom of the roasting tin or casserole dish, spreading the sauce all over the base. Place 2 sheets of lasagne on top of the sauce overlapping to make it fit, then repeat with more sauce and another layer of pasta. Repeat with a further 2 layers of sauce and pasta, finishing with a layer of pasta.

Put the crème fraîche in a bowl and mix with 2 tbsp water to loosen it and make a smooth pourable sauce. Pour this over the top of the pasta, then top with the mozzarella. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top and bake for 25&ndash;30 mins until golden and bubbling. Serve scattered with basil, if you like.

Classic holiday sugar cookies (made in the food processor!) get a colorful glow-up with an easy marbled royal icing for a treat everyone will swoon over.

Marbled Cookies

all-purpose flour,

sugar

tsp baking powder

salt

(1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed

eggs

tsp vanilla extract

holiday cookie cutters

meringue powder

9-11 tbsp water, as needed

confectioners' sugar, sifted

Red food coloring, as needed

Green food coloring, as needed

To a food processor, add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse 30 sec., until the mixture resembles coarse.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Add egg mixture to food processor and pulse another 30 sec., until the dough begins to come together, taking care not to overmix. Transfer dough to a work surface and knead gently until it comes together, about 1–2 min. Form into a flat disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Divide dough in half, then let sit 5–10 min., to make it easier to roll out. Roll each piece to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on prepared cookie sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Refrigerate 5 min. Bake cookies 10–12 min., until edges are lightly golden. Cool completely.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the meringue powder and 5 tbsp water on medium speed until frothy, about 1 min. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat 1–2 min., until smooth and thick. Add more water, 1 tbsp at a time, as needed until a figure 8 traced on the surface of the icing holds its shape.

Divide icing into 2 shallow bowls. Add a few drops of red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to the other. Using a toothpick, swirl a few times to create a marbled effect.

Working one at a time, dip tops of cookies into icing, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Dip remaining cookies, swirling in more food coloring as needed (use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in icing). Let cookies set on wire racks, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Classic holiday sugar cookies (made in the food processor!) get a colorful glow-up with an easy marbled royal icing for a treat everyone will swoon over.  

Get the full recipe at:
https://www.savoryonline.com/recipes/marbled-cookies/

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Top 4 cooking with children recipes from across the web

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Chicken satay

Jammy dodger flowers

Easy classic lasagne

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Top 4 cooking with children recipes from across the web

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Chicken satay

Jammy dodger flowers

Easy classic lasagne

Marbled Cookies

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