Cookbook agony aunt: cooking for kids

My friend Diego asks: what do you make if you've got a toddler?

I have appointed myself a community agony aunt, and pressed good friends into service. So my friend and colleague Diego has done me a solid, and asked me my first question: what are the five best oven-based recipes for a man with a toddler?

Diego was already into Meera Sodha’s amazing recipe for oven-baked butter paneer, which he called a “beast” of a recipe. I concur. All you need to do is chop up some paneer, dump various things into a roasting dish, and make some rice or heat up some naan, all to have something that is creamy, tangy, sweet and delightful, far more than the sum of its parts. He wanted, essentially, more of the same.

I don’t have a toddler, so I did a little research. First I texted some friends with young kids—one said Diego needs recipes with “five minutes of prep”, or else “pancakes.” Another (Hailey), sent along a kid’s cookbook that looked extremely elite, and confessed she would love to just eat cereal or toast, alone. Her kid goes wild for meatballs. A third said every night should have a “theme”—pasta night, taco night—because coming up with a dinner plan was the hardest part. She suggested copious amounts of cheese. (I concur!)

Diego wanted oven-based recipes, he skews veggie, he needs things that are hearty (he lives in Scotland), and his comfort foods are fried rice and dal. Since his son is still small, I figured that his kid’s preferences (barring going easy on chilli and salt), were less important than giving Diego the best food for the easiest possible prep—something that should appeal to anyone with a busy life. Here are my top five.

1. Cheat’s greens pie

Greek-style greens pie, for four adults and more kids

This recipe is my failsafe, cheat’s version of Georgina Hayden’s greens pie from her fantastic cookbook Nistisima. I use her method and honestly just take the lazy way out. The only things you really need are:

1 pack shop-bought puff pastry
Large bag of spinach (200-300g)
1 pack of feta
1 lemon
Honey (optional but recommended)

Everything else you can add in what you’ve got:
- Extra greens, for example a leek, spring onions, courgette, all sliced thin
- Soft herbs, any amount you like (dill is particularly good)
- Your favourite spices (I like cumin, fennel seeds, chilli)
- Sesame and/or nigella seeds

This is simplified because it uses puff pastry, and adds in the feta. But the key here is the wilting method: take your bag or cleaned bunch of spinach, trim if needed, and throw into a colander in your sink (add the sliced other veg if you want). Over the top of the greens, throw in about a teaspoon of sea salt, and give the whole thing a scrunch with your hands. Leave it. Fifteen minutes later, give it another scrunch, and take your puff pastry out of the fridge. Another fifteen minutes later, the spinach should essentially look wilted down.

Preheat your oven to 220 fan; give the spinach mix a good squeeze in the colander to get as much water out as you can, and mix in your spices if you’d like, plus squeeze of lemon and/or some zest, and whatever soft herbs you’ve got in whatever combination you’d like. Crumble in the feta. Taste for seasoning, you shouldn’t need more salt but lots of pepper wouldn’t go amiss.

Take a cast iron pan (or another pan that can go in the oven), pour in a little oil to coat the bottom. On a cutting board or plate pile the greens on the puff pastry and bring the ends over to cover, in a flattened parcel shape. Don’t worry if it’s a bit messy, just make sure there’s no holes. Flip it seam-down into the pan, put it on the hob, then take it up to medium heat and sear for 2-3 minutes until you can hear it sizzling. Stab it in a couple places on top with a knife, brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle over some sesame or nigella seeds if you’d like, and put the pie in the hot oven for about 25-30 minutes or until nice and golden.

When it comes out, drizzle it with a little honey while still hot, and serve it warm or at room temperature with a little yogurt or crème fraiche on the side, maybe with some diced cucumber, lemon and herbs stirred through. It will keep well for lunches for a couple days.

2. Crispy gnocchi with any veg or cheese, for 2 (plus a kid)

Who gets original credit for that most beloved of new-British classics, the crispy sheet pan gnocchi? It’s probably Rukmini Iyer of the Roasting Tin cookbooks, but now everyone’s doing it. This is a crispy potato canvas, and less a recipe than an idea. You’ll need:

1 pack pre-made gnocchi from the grocery store
Any cheese you’d like
Any veg you’d like
Any herbs or spices you’d like

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Rip open your packet. Get out your metal roasting tin, drop the gnocchi inside, and then cut or tear the veg in. Place the cheese in the middle. Drizzle with oil and season. Cook for 30 minutes or so, until the gnocci is crispy and golden. You can also add some drained beans here if you want a bit more heft. This will not make enough for leftovers!

Combinations you can try:
- Feta, red onion and cherry tomatoes
- Garlic boursin, tarragon and mushrooms
- Goat’s cheese, rosemary, pepper and aubergine
- Half kids, half adults: put loads of chilli on one side of the roasting tray, go for a kids’ cacio e pepe on the other

3. Oven-roasted risotto with all your leftovers mixed in, for four

2 tbsp olive oil, or a mix of butter and olive oil
1 onion
350 arbrorio rice
1.1 L stock, your preference
175 ml water or wine or a good squeeze of lemon juice
3 garlic cloves
Quite a lot of grated parmesan
Veg, protein and herbs, as you like!

Again, more a template than a real recipe. But if I’ve banged the drum once, I’ve done it a million times: oven risotto is great. I use the Use It All cookbook method.

Simply pre-heat the oven to 180C (350F). You can use your regular method here. On the hob, sautée your onion and garlic with the olive oil/butter until softened, then toss in the rice, stir until ricey smelling, and add in the wine or the squeeze of lemon (or skip if you like). Let the liquid absorb if you added any, then pour in all of the stock, cover the pot, and put in the oven for 20 minutes.

Take it out, uncover it, and finish on the hob on high heat, for probably about five minutes or so if needed. It'll probably still be pretty wet, but it'll only take a few minutes to absorb more stock, and remember to take off while it's still pretty saucy and soupy (unless you like a firm risotto.) You can finish with diabolical amounts of butter and parm, but if you want to skip dairy, you can always taste and add a little bit of white miso if you feel it needs it.

This is an easy one for any leftovers you need to use up or any heels of hardened parmesan, but I’m going to go ahead and suggest you use the oven heat to roast some vegetables you can then stir through at the end.

You could char some tomatoes for Meera Sodha’s marmite and chilli butter risotto (maybe your kid is really adventurous, what do I know!!!), roast some seasoned cauliflower in small chunks (take it out early and puree with some nutmeg), or, best of all, a small pumpkin or butternut squash. I just leave it totally dry, stab it a couple times with a knife and put it in the oven early; take it out when it’s very soft, split it and just scoop out the tasty purée. If your kid likes greens, you could also blanch any greens you’ve got and then purée with a squeeze of lemon (cavolo nero is extra good).

If you’re really in a pinch, just stir in frozen peas and some soft cheese and let them melt in the residual heat. Make sure to season the adult’s portions very well.

4. Really lazy gado gado, for roughly 2

Does your kid like peanut butter? Do you like peanut butter? Then it’s time for bastardised gado gado, the very lazy version of the Indonesian salad, that’s basically roasted potatoes + other vegetables, finished in a peanutty sauce. I eat this alone for lunch on the reg; I would make as much as your largest roasting tray can hold.

You need:
One bag or potatoes, cut up into bite size pieces, or buy new potatoes
Crunchy green veg, ideally green beans, tenderstem broccoli, asparagus, or a mix
Kale, if you and your kid like it! (I love it)
If you have a random celeriac or turnip, you can chop into bite-sized pieces and add in too (I would not choose carrots but you do you)
Firm tofu, torn into bite size pieces, optional

For the sauce:
3-4 tbsp peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1 lime, squeezed
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
A quarter of a can of coconut milk. (If you don’t want to open a can just for this, leave it out; otherwise store the rest in a mason jar and use it for an instant laksa the next day)
A little grated ginger or garlic, as you like

Preheat the oven to 180-200C. Chop or tear everything up. Lay the potatoes on the tray, oil and season them, and give them a head start, roughly 20 minutes, tossing the potatoes a couple times if you remember. After they’re golden and tender, add in the other veg and optional tofu and kale (pre-seasoned with a little oil), for the last 10 minutes or so, watching to make sure it doesn’t burn. (My oven runs very hot.)

Meanwhile, make the peanutty sauce. If you’re leaving out the coconut milk, just loosen the sauce with some warm water until it’s roughly the consistency of single cream.

Once the salad has cooled enough to eat, you can serve. Any extras are nice (cucumber spears, crispy onions), but very optional. The peanut sauce is extra fun served on the side for dunking.

5. Puffy toad in a hole, with any veg, for 2 to 4 (depending on sides)

Would kids like this? I’m going out on a limb here. I’ve been told kids like pancakes, I’m sure kids like Yorkshire puddings, and this is basically a big puffy veggie pancake/yorkshire pudding hybrid. I absolutely love it, and have been making it for years. It makes a very nice starter for adults, or a cheeky side for a roast.

Gill Meller’s recipe is here—he uses tomatoes and red onions but you could adapt to anything you’d like. (I always use Gill’s recipe.) Ottolenghi’s version uses beetroots, celeriac and swede. The classic, of course, is built around sausages—but meatballs would be delightful.

You could also do a sweet version, of course! Use apples or pears or rhubarb, and dust with a little icing sugar, for a giant puffy sweet pancake that everyone will love. Or, if you’ve got softened bananas and it’s been a long day, make Meera Sodha’s near-instant banana miso mug cake. That one’s just for you. You deserve it!

I hope some of these go down well with adults and toddlers alike—they’re some of my favourites. And do you want to indulge me and let me be your cookbook agony aunt? Send me a question, and I’ll go on the hunt!