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Mini lamb and mint burgers with cheesy polenta

Posted on November 3, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I love a lamb burger. Moist and still a little pink, it needs little else to flavour it. But just like the perfect pairing of roast lamb and mint sauce, throwing some fresh mint into the lamb mince adds a sweet zing.

I love the colour of polenta, but personally I don’t like it. Never have and don’t understand why people make such a big deal about it. HOWEVER, I mustn’t push my preferences onto Nicholas! I do think though, that cheese makes pretty much everything taste better (honestly I could live off cheese and bread, with the odd steak and potato thrown in every now and then). And with “cheeeeese” being one of Nicholas’ favourite foods (or “maggio” if he’s talking to Papà), I just had to add it to the polenta.

These are mini lamb burgers for little pudgy fingers to pick up and devour, but just make them bigger and cook them a little longer for bigger people.

Polenta, cheesy or plain, is a great meal for babies. You can leave out the salt and oil at the start of the recipe, and not add the butter after it’s cooked. They can have the polenta on its own while the rest of the family also have the burgers, so you just have to cook one meal.

Put any leftover polenta into a cake or loaf baking tin and leave it in the fridge. Once it’s cold, cut it into fingers, brush or spray with a little oil and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until crisp on the outside. Eat on their own or dip into a homemade tomato sauce.

MINI LAMB AND MINT BURGERS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Makes about 18 mini burgers
Freezable

250g minced lamb
1 shallot, finely diced
1 egg yolk
1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
salt and pepper (optional)
Drizzle of olive oil

Mix the lamb, shallot, egg yolk and mint in a bowl with 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs. Season if using. Add another tablespoon of breadcrumbs if the mixture is too wet to mould into small balls.

Heat the olive oil over a med-low heat in a large frying pan.

Shape the mixture into small balls, flattening them when you place them in the pan. Cook for a few minutes both sides until just cooked through.

CHEESY POLENTA

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Makes 2 adult and 1 toddler serving

500ml (2 cups) water
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
Pinch of salt (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup polenta or cornmeal
1/3 cup cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
30g unsalted butter, chopped

Put the water and milk (and salt, if using) into a saucepan and bring it to a light boil. Turn down the heat to low and add the oil.

With a whisk, start stirring as you very slowly add the polenta. Be careful not to add too much at a time as it easily creates lumps which are then very difficult to get rid of.

Continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon every so often until it thickens and starts to come away from the side of the saucepan (about 20 mins).

Remove from heat. Add the cheese and butter and stir until melted. If the polenta is too thick, add a dash of milk. Add more seasoning to the adult servings.

Other uses:

  • Serve the cheesy polenta with a chunky tomato or vegetable sauce, or sautéed mushrooms instead of the lamb burgers.
  • Chill the polenta in a baking tin and cut into fingers; lightly oil and fry until crispy.

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Spider web carrot and lentil soup

Posted on October 24, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Growing up in Australia, I never remember doing anything for Halloween and it still surprises me how much of a deal it has become here in the UK. But it is a great excuse to let your imagination run free and add some fun to your meals, something that Nicholas is appreciating more and more.

I saw the idea for the olive spiders on Pinterest quite a while ago and loved how simple yet effective they are (I so adore Pinterest for getting the creative juices flowing!). And where there are spiders, there has to be spider webs, and ‘drawing’ a yogurt web on a bowl of soup is super easy.

I was originally thinking of making a butternut squash soup I regularly make in the colder months, but then I came across the lovely Blue’s recipe for a wonderfully thick and lightly spiced carrot and red lentil soup. It’s the perfect soup to continue my ‘crusade’ to add some spice to Nicholas’ palate!

I usually use homemade stock for soups, but if you use the freshest ingredients, you can actually get away with just using water instead of stock (add a bit more seasoning though).

SPIDER WEB CARROT AND LENTIL SOUP

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Makes 4 servings

1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
A pinch of chilli flakes
600g carrots, washed but not peeled, coarsely grated
1 onion, roughly chopped
140g red lentils
1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
125ml milk
Salt and pepper
Plain yoghurt to serve
Black kalamata olives to decorate

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the cumin, coriander and chilli flakes. After a minute or so, when you can smell the spices, add the chopped onion and carrot. Season to taste. Stir and let fry gently for a couple of minutes.

Add the hot stock, lentils and milk. Bring almost to the boil then drop the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the lentils are tender and cooked. Check if you need to add more seasoning.

Puree the soup until smooth.

To serve, use a spoon to make a spiral of yogurt on top of each bowl of soup (or use a piping bag if you want to be more precise). Then make more yogurt lines starting in the centre and lightly dragging them to the edge to create a web-like pattern.

Decorate with olive spiders by using half an olive for the body and slices of the other olive half for legs.

How are you letting your creativity shine for Halloween?

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Minty courgette pasta sauce

Posted on October 17, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

It’s well and truly time for another pasta sauce recipe, and I love one that you can make in about the same time as the pasta takes to cook!

The flavours for this sauce were inspired by my herby courgette pasta salad. There’s something very fresh about mint and courgette, and the basil gives a deeper flavour so the mint isn’t too sweet. And the yogurt brings it all together, ready to be mixed through some lovely pasta.

It’s perfect for every member of your family. Babies can have the sauce and pasta pureed together, or have the sauce over baby pasta. Adults will probably want a bit more seasoning than toddlers. Here’s to cooking one meal for everyone!

MINTY COURGETTE PASTA SAUCE

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Makes 1 toddler and 1 adult portion

1 medium courgette (zucchini), grated and the excess water squeezed out
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 tsp olive oil
7 fresh mint leaves, finely sliced
2 large fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper (optional)

In a medium-sized frying pan, heat the oil and butter over a medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the grated courgette (seasoning if using) and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the mint and basil, and cook for another 2 minutes.

Take the courgette mix off the heat and stir through the yogurt.

Serve over cooked pasta.

For babies, purée the sauce and pasta together until smooth, or serve the sauce over baby pasta.

Variations:

  • For toddlers and adults, add some garlic as you’re cooking the courgette (1/2 clove of crushed garlic or a sprinkle of garlic granules)
  • Finely dice the courgette rather than grate it for a chunkier sauce
  • Use double (thickened) cream instead of yogurt
  • Add a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts just before serving

Tip: if you want to freeze this sauce, don’t add the yogurt. After defrosting the sauce, add fresh yogurt once you’ve heated it.

Do you have any recipes that are perfect for the whole family?

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Soft butternut squash cakes

Posted on October 9, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I’ve been more focused on toddler-friendly meals lately, natural since Nicholas is getting bigger, but I don’t want to stop experimenting with recipes that are also good for your smaller little ones.

These little vegetable cakes are very soft inside so great for babies without teeth. They are a simpler (and slightly quicker) version of my Butternut Squash and Chickpea Cakes, which are easily adapted to feed the whole family.

I made some medium and small-sized ones, but because of their softness the small ones (about 4cm in diameter) are easier for small fingers to hold and also easier to flip over when you’re cooking them.

If you’re making these for toddlers you can add some seasoning and also some spice (I used a teaspoon each of paprika and cumin for a warming spicy flavour). If you’re introducing a little spice to your munchkin, start with 1/2 teaspoon each of spices.

Use your preferred method of cooking the butternut squash, remembering that the quicker you cook it, the more nutrients remain. For toddlers you can leave the peel on as it will get chopped up in the food processor when you combine it with the other ingredients.

This recipe makes a large batch of cakes – perfect to have in the freezer for days you don’t feel like cooking.

SOFT BUTTERNUT SQUASH CAKES

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Makes about 40 mini cakes (or 26 medium cakes)
Freezable

Approx. 400g cooked butternut squash
1 medium courgette (zucchini), coursely grated
1 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup plain flour
Drizzle of olive oil or cooking spray

For toddler version also:
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper

Put the butternut squash into a food processor and blend until smooth. If you’ve left the skin on, check that it’s broken up into small pieces.

Add the grated courgette, chickpeas, egg yolk and flour. Blend until combined (the mixture will be quite runny almost like a pancake mixture).

If making for a toddler, add the paprika, cumin and season to taste.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a med-low heat, spray with cooking spray or use a drizzle of olive oil.

Drop small spoonfuls of mixture into the pan (don’t overcrowd the pan to make turning them easier), flipping them after a few minutes when they’re golden brown and cooking the other side. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Leave to cool a little (they’ll firm up a bit as they get cooler). Serve with yogurt to dip them into.

Variations:

  • Use sweet potato instead of butternut squash
  • For toddlers, try some different spices such as ground coriander
  • Add some fresh coriander to the mixture

What other soft foods do you like to make for your little ones, especially when they don’t yet have teeth?

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Vegetable Korma

Posted on October 3, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I’ve talked before about not being very adventurous with spice in Nicholas’ food, but I’ve been trying to extend his tastebuds by adding different spicy flavours. Last week we went to our local pub for dinner and chose a mild chicken curry off their good children’s menu. When I tasted it I was surprised by the level of spiciness (closer to medium than mild), so was very curious to see Nicholas’ reaction. He loved it! Here’s to more spice then.

You can find some interesting and easy Indian-inspired baby and toddler recipes on the Homemade Baby Food Recipes site. My vegetable korma is a very slight adaptation of one they say you can give babies from 7 or 8 months (please use your discretion and your expert knowledge of your baby to decide when to introduce some aromatic spices to their food, and it’s always best to only introduce one new spice or food at a time).

This has a mild level of spiciness, more warming than hot, so perfect for even young tastebuds. Next time I’ll double the quantities of spice (so 1/4 tsp of each) and add some chopped or crushed garlic at the start for some more oomph.

You can really use any vegetables you have on hand for this korma. Sweet potato, green beans, bell peppers (capsicum), mushrooms and broccoli would all work well. Don’t worry too much about measuring exact quantities; trust your instinct to add more or less of each vegetable. It takes a bit more time, but cutting the vegetables into quite small pieces means they cook quicker and keep more of their nutrients.

Toddlers can eat the korma as is with some rice. For babies, blend the vegetables after it’s cooked or, if your munchkin is fine with some lumps, roughly mash it with a fork or potato masher.

VEGETABLE KORMA

Prep time: 10-15 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Makes 3-4 toddler portions
Freezable

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup peas
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 cup water
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) ground ginger
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) cumin
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) turmeric
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) ground coriander
Salt to taste (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for a few minutes until the onion is translucent and the carrot is starting to become softer.

Add the tomato puree and spices. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the remaining vegetables, coconut and water (and salt, if using). Stir, turn up the heat to medium-high and bring it to the boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked.

If serving to a baby, either blend the mixture until a smooth puree, or roughly mash with a fork or potato masher for a lumpier puree.

For a toddler, serve with cooked rice.

Variations:

  • Use different vegetables such as sweet potato, broccoli, bell peppers (capsicum), green beans or mushrooms.
  • Add chopped or crushed garlic to the onion and carrot.
  • Add grated fresh ginger to the onion and carrot.
  • Add a spoonful of coconut cream at the end.

Have you introduced spice to your little one’s food? Do they like it?

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Fish fingers with wedges and mushy peas

Posted on September 25, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

After a week of cupcakes, it’s definitely time to return to healthier meals!

Nicholas has been at the stage where he wants to eat what we’re eating for a while now. Most of the time that’s fine, and it makes my job easier only having to prepare one meal each time instead of two. But sometimes he doesn’t like what we eat or I want him to eat a more balanced meal than we’re having.

I’ve started taking more care in how I present food to him, trying to include different colours of foods, making cute patterns, building towers of food (cheese works well!) or just putting it on colourful plates. This has really worked and has stopped him throwing tantrums when he wants to eat our dinner instead of his own.


Giving him a few different choices on the same plate also works. His developing independence means he’s happier when he’s choosing what goes into his mouth. It means meal times are longer as he decides what he should try next, but everyone is more relaxed.

My fish fingers and wedges are baked rather than fried to be healthier. The fish takes only a few minutes to cook so the breadcrumbs don’t turn that brown; you could add some turmeric to the breadcrumbs for a more golden colour.

FISH FINGERS WITH WEDGES AND MUSHY PEAS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25-30 mins
Makes 1 toddler serving

1 medium potato, unpeeled
Drizzle of olive oil or cooking spray
1/2 skinless fillet of white fish (haddock, cod, plaice, etc.)
3-4 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
3-4 tbsp breadcrumbs
4 tbsp frozen peas
Small sprig of mint, finely chopped
Small piece of butter
Salt and pepper (optional)

Heat the oven to 200C and line an oven tray with foil.

Scrub the potato clean and pat it dry. Without peeling it, cut it into wedge shapes. Put them into a small saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for about 5 mins until they start getting softer.

Either drizzle a little olive oil on the lined oven tray or spray with cooking spray. Place the partly cooked wedges on the tray, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper if using. Cook  for about 20 -25 mins, turning them about halfway through, until crisp and brown on the outside.

Put your frozen peas into a small microwave-safe bowl and add 1/2 tsp water and the chopped mint. Cover and cook on medium for 1 min. Stir and cook for another 30 secs on medium. Drain any excess water, add a little butter and roughly mash for a fork. Cover and keep warm.

Cut the fish into thin strips, checking for any bones. Lightly season if you wish.

Prepare your three bowls for coating the fish: one bowl with flour, one with the beaten egg and the other with the breadcrumbs. Dip the fish strips into the flour shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg and let the excess drip off before dipping into the breadcrumbs to coat.

Put the fish onto the same oven tray as the cooking wedges. The fish fingers will only take a few minutes to cook, but the time will depend on the size you cut them. Take one out after 3 or 4 mins to check, remembering they will keep cooking for a little bit after you take them out of the oven.

Once the fish fingers and wedges are cooked, serve them with the mushy peas and some creme fraiche or yogurt for dipping (or ketchup if you really have to!).

Variations:

  • add some grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs for a cheesy coating
  • add a pinch of turmeric to the breadcrumbs for a more golden colour

Tip: to make your own breadcrumbs from leftover bread look at my previous tip.

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Spinach lasagne

Posted on September 12, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Nicholas is a big meat eater (not surprising if you know his parents!). He usually happily shares his food when asked, but if it happens to be some meat he’s particularly enjoying, then he’s more likely to shovel everything into his mouth as quickly as possible then gesture with his hands it’s all gone (what a shame!).

During our holidays it was easy to feed him meat, but less easy to get him to eat a good amount of vegetables. And with the nice weather at the weekend, we had two days of barbecues at friends’ with Nicholas happily devouring hamburgers and chorizo sausages. Vegetables? Not interested mummy, more MEAT.

So my objective for this week was to get as many vegies in him as possible!

My vegetarian lasagne is just a simplified lasagne that’s not too time-consuming to prepare or cook. Looking for a dish small enough to fit just one sheet of lasagna, I had the brainwave of using a loaf tin and mine was the perfect size. Any ovenproof dish would be fine though.

I used spinach, yellow pepper (capsicum), mushrooms and onion in my vegetable layer to pack in lots of nutrients (and don’t you just love the bright yellow and green colours?). You can use pretty much whatever vegetables you like or have on hand.

I remember my first attempts as a uni student making lasagne… not great. I didn’t understand the concept of the dry pasta sheets needing moisture to soften and cook. I thought the edges I didn’t cover with sauce would get nice and crunchy. Well they did, but they were also raw! It’s not rocket science, just make sure when you’re spooning the sauce over the pasta that the sheet is completely covered.

SPINACH LASAGNA

Prep time: 30-35 mins
Cook time: 20-25 mins
Makes 4 toddler servings (or 2 toddler servings & 1 adult serving)
Freezable

1/2 onion, diced
100g mushrooms, chopped
1 small yellow pepper (capsicum), diced
75g fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 tsp olive oil
50g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
A pinch of salt (optional)
A pinch of nutmeg
3 uncooked lasagna sheets
100g mozzarella di bufala (or any fresh mozzarella)
A handful of grated parmesan

Heat your oven to 220C.

In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 mins.

Add the mushrooms and pepper. Cover the pan and turn the heat down a little to med-low. Cook until the onion is transparent and the vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.

Add the spinach and stir until it just starts to wilt. Take the pan off the heat.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a med-low heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon for 1 minute (this cooks the flour to avoid having a raw flour taste in your sauce).

Add about 1/4 cup of the milk to the flour paste and use a whisk to stir to get rid of any lumps immediately. Turn the heat up to medium and gradually whisk in the rest of the milk. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens to a runny custard consistency (not too thick), making sure it doesn’t boil.

Take the white sauce off the heat and add a pinch of salt (if using) and a good pinch of nutmeg. Mix and taste, adding more salt and/or nutmeg if necessary.

In a loaf tin, big enough to hold one lasagna sheet, spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the bottom (just enough to cover it). Place a sheet of lasagna on top. Cover with half of the vegetable ‘sauce’ and then about one third of the remaining white sauce (making sure the pasta sheet is completely covered). Pull apart one third of the mozzarella into chunks with your fingers and sprinkle it over.

Add another layer of pasta, vegetables, white sauce and mozzarella.

Finish with the third sheet of pasta, top with the last of the white sauce, the remaining mozzarella and sprinkle over the parmesan.

Cook for 20-25 mins until the top is lovely and golden and the pasta is cooked (a knife or skewer will easily pierce through from the top to the bottom). If the top is getting too golden, cover with foil and continue cooking.

Variations:

  • use any combination of vegetables in the vegetable sauce
  • add long slices of lightly fried courgette (zucchini) or aubergine (egg plant) under your vegetable sauce
  • use dollops of ricotta instead of the mozzarella

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