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If you want to bring up your children as vegetarians, how do you make sure they get a healthy diet? Nadine Abensur has five delicious suggestions If people are diffident about becoming vegetarian, they are doubly so when it comes to their children. There are understandable concerns about meeting the nutritional requirements of the developing child, especially providing sufficient protein, iron and calcium. A vegetarian diet is intrinsically rich in fibre and vitamins and tends to be lower in fat, but watch out for deep-fried foods and so-called vegetarian health foods which tend to be stuffed full with it. Children have an undeserved reputation for not liking vegetables. But it is true that practice and conditioning play their part. ‘Start them young’, must be the advice here. My own not-quite-four-year-old adores vegetables, including such sophisticated pleasures as fennel, red peppers, butternut squash and sweet potatoes. He also loves all manner of pulses, not just the ubiquitous baked bean. Pasta, rice, couscous and polenta are all winners especially if covered in grated parmesan. And, like all children, he loves small portioned and finger-friendly food, so I play on these preferences.
Sweetcorn Fritters with Cucumber and Mango Salsa Makes 12 fritters (Serves 3-4) You can make these with a mixture of sweetcorn and petit pois or even broccoli broken into tiny florets. You can also replace 1 tbsp of the flour with 1 tbsp dessiccated coconut. If you use frozen corn, you may require a little less liquid. However, if the mixture is dry, add a splash of water till it holds its shape. kernels from 3 corn-on-the-cobs, each yielding about 225g, or equivalent weight of frozen kernels
3-5 tbsp flour, depending on wetness of corn (or replace 2 tbsp with rice flour)
½ tsp baking powder
5 tbsp double cream
splash soya sauce
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander, optional
salt and pepper
sunflower oil, for frying
lime juice, to serve (optional) For the salsa
½ mango, peeled
¼-½ cucumber, peeled
dash of orange juice
dash of soya sauce - Mix the corn, flour, baking powder, cream, soya sauce and coriander together in a bowl, add seasoning, and allow to settle for a few minutes before forming into small patties in the palms of your moistened hands (or simply form into quenelles with 2 dessertspoons).
- Heat a few spoonfuls of sunflower oil in a frying pan and lower the fritters carefully into the hot oil. Allow the fritters to cook well on one side before turning over carefully onto the other. A fish slice makes the job easier.
- Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little salt, or lime juice if your children are up to this.
- For the mango and cucumber salsa, simply dice the flesh of the mango and cucumber and mix well. Add the orange juice and soya sauce and serve with the fritters.
Polenta Chips with Roasted Vegetables and Parmesan
Polenta, fried into crisp coated fingers and fennel, with its sweet taste, are both popular with children. (My little boy even eats chunks of raw fennel instead of apple). This recipe makes enough polenta chips for 8 children (if they eat 3 each), so you can freeze what you don’t need and heat them slowly in the oven to serve. The amount of fennel listed serves 4 children. Makes 24 fingers (serves 8) 1 litre water, lightly salted
250g polenta
3 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
50g parmesan
1 tbsp sundried tomato purée (optional)
3 lumps frozen chopped spinach (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste 1-2 medium heads fennel
olive oil
200g petit pois
2 small carrots (optional) - Bring some lightly salted water to the boil and pour the polenta into it in a thin stream, stirring vigorously all the while.
- Keep stirring over a medium heat until the polenta is thick and beginning to leave the sides of the pan (how long will depend on the quality of your polenta – see packet for instructions). Stir in the butter and parmesan and, if you’re using them, the tomato purée and spinach. Add a little seasoning to taste, bearing in mind that the parmesan is already quite salty.
- Pour the polenta onto a wet chopping board and spread to a rectangle about 30cm x 23cm and about 1cm thick. Allow to cool, then cut into 24 fingers (each 8cm x 3cm).
- To cook, pour about 3 tbsp olive oil into an oven tray and place the fingers on top, basting them with oil, and bake for about 20 minutes on 200C/400F/gas mark 6 until crisp and golden. Or heat the oil in a frying pan and fry them on both sides till similarly ready.
- Meanwhile, cut the fennel into 6-8 long pieces. Baste with olive oil and roast in a separate tray in the oven for about 20 minutes until soft in the middle and browned on the outside.
- While the fennel is cooking, blanch the petit pois in plenty of lightly salted boiling water for about 4 minutes. Drain and mix with the roasted fennel, then serve with the burgers.
- If you want added colour and a good dose of vitamin A, peel a couple of small carrots and cut them into thin batons. Baste them with olive oil and roast them at the same time as the polenta fingers – in a separate tray with the fennel if necessary. Mix with the petits pois as before.
Chickpea Casserole with Spinach
Serves 2 2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp black mustard seeds 1 tin (400g) chickpeas, liquid included
1 small potato, cut into small chunks
1 red pepper, deseeded, cut into 8 strips
125g (half a bag) washed baby spinach
1 tomato, quartered
2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
1 small red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
salt and pepper To serve
Greek yoghurt
lemon wedges (optional)
tortillas or chapattis - Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, throw in the red onion, garlic and chilli and sweat until transparent. Add the ground coriander and the mustard seeds and fry for a minute or so, adding 1 or 2 tbsp liquid from the tin of chickpeas.
- Add the chopped potato and stir in until well coated with the spices. Allow to cook for 5 or 6 minutes until the potatoes are almost soft. Then add the chickpeas and the rest of the liquid and simmer gently for 5-7 minutes till the sauce is thick and rich.
- Meanwhile heat your griddle pan and sauté the red pepper strips in the remaining oil until charred in places. Add to the chickpeas then gently add in the baby spinach and stir until wilted.
- Add the tomato quarters and cook until just soft. Finish with the tamari or soy sauce and extra olive oil if you like.
- Serve with a bowl of Greek yoghurt and if adults are eating, some lemon wedges too, as well as some fried or plain tortillas or warmed chapattis.
Potato Gnocchi with Broccoli, Parmesan and Butter
This uses bought, loosely packed gnocchi which take only 2-3 minutes to cook. A 500g bag will give at least 4, and probably 6, 4-year-old portions. Serves 4 500g potato gnocchi
200g broccoli, cut into small florets
30g butter
30g parmesan, or more, according to taste - Simply plunge the gnocchi into properly boiling lightly salted water at the same time as the broccoli florets.
- Have the butter and grated parmesan ready in a bowl and add the drained gnocchi and broccoli. Stir gently till the butter and cheese melt and serve at once.
Pizza
A favourite supper – this puff pastry ‘pizza’ could not be easier. 300g puff pastry
1 ½ tbsp sundried tomato purée
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
2 handfuls fresh spinach
4-5 slices mozzarella
1 free-range egg, plus a little beaten egg
nutmeg
salt and pepper - Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.
- Roll the pastry out less than 0.5cm thick and cut into a 23cm circle. Prick all but a 2cm outside rim with a fork.
- Spread the purée within the inner circle and fit the cherry tomatoes all over, leaving a circle in the centre for the egg. Crack the egg into the circle.
- Wilt the spinach, season lightly with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg and scatter over the pizza.
- Cover with the mozzarella slices and glaze the outer rim with the beaten egg.
- Place in a preheated oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes till the outside rim is risen and golden.
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