__________________
First things first. In writing this book, I would like the notion of ‘children’s food’ to be firmly and finally put to bed. The food I serve my children is food I would also like to eat myself, using a variety of ingredients and enjoying the process – it doesn’t have to be an expensive or elite activity. I believe that making the time to cook and eat together as much as possible is crucial. From scrambled eggs to celebratory suppers, all are of equal importance.
The recipes in this book are an authentic indicator of how I cater for my own family. Some dishes are effortless and easy, mere collisions of ingredients in a bowl. For me, the everyday and accessible are vital anchors for a cookbook. It is these notions that can go on to make a cookbook indispensable, a well-splattered document of family life. That said, I also enjoy the triumph of pulling off the trickier dishes, the one-offs among friends. And so I am making just enough space in this cookbook for those courageous, ambitious moments all kitchens and all cooks are capable of.
I am a professional chef and so have many recipes, cookery methods and techniques to hand. This battle-scarred knowledge of ingredients, seasons and cooking resources is invaluable to me. I still have a caramelised orange-shaped scar on my upper foot – wearing sandals in a kitchen while working with molten sugar was stupid and foolhardy. I was twenty, in a rush and running late with my mise en place for service. Older and wiser now, those days spent as a restaurant chef stand me in good stead as a mother and food writer, and now family food ambassador for the National Trust. Practising what you preach is no mean feat when helping to develop recipes for the supporters and 4.5 million members of the Trust throughout the UK. It’s an exciting challenge and one I am thrilled to be on board with – packing taste, flavour and family appeal into the recipes served up in the many National Trust cafés.
For me, inspiration comes from both nearby and far-flung places. I like that a dish can appear on the table in front of my children and spark conversation about where in the world the ingredients or cooking method might come from. In my cooking, I am also inspired by the serving methods of other cultures, such as offering multiple condiments or accompaniments (hot, cooling, comforting, sweet, sour and so on) to complement a meal. Serving chutneys, pickles, chilli flakes, raitas, chopped salads, herbs, extra salt for those who want it, pepper, flatbreads, limes, lemons, grated cheese, toasted breadcrumbs and more can help to customise a meal while satisfying a variety of appetites within the family.
I think it is important that children don’t see food as a battleground, or something to be venerated. While a certain level of continuity can be reassuring for a child, if your ultimate goal is a more varied family diet and not one built on repetition (thinking of your sanity here), do try to introduce new recipes and ingredients with a certain nonchalance and in the spirit of adventure. Consider ingredients as building blocks, and try to include a wide variety from a young age, moving flavours and textures around to create new tastes and dishes. It is no surprise that young children will often ape their older siblings and adults. If an ingredient – such as chilli flakes, or grated mature cheese – is used commonly on certain dishes by other members of the family, I have found that soon enough the youngest members will want to follow suit. Camaraderie is a powerful thing come teatime.
I am determined that when my children leave home, we will have spent more hours together eating, talking and laughing around the kitchen table than on any sofa. I also hope that they will all cook well. In their cooking, I’d like them to be generous with vegetables, able to cook thrifty, wholesome ingredients with punch and panache, and be confident in using a variety of spices and herbs. Lastly, I suppose, what I would like most is for them to have a relationship with food that is completely and utterly normal.
I have divided the chapters of this book into manageable time frames so you can cook what you want, when you want it. This way lies confident cookery. There are days when a quick lunch or speedy dinner needs to be assembled amid the clamour in furious, ravenous moments, and recipes to help navigate these frantic times are a lifeline. With the luxury of time, there are also dishes that, with a minimum of preparation, can be left to their own devices for an hour or more, giving you time to get on with something else entirely. There are also recipes that have the necessary time slots to duck in and out of kitchen preparation, keeping you near enough but not shackled to the stove.
I like nothing more than reading cookbooks as well as cooking from them and, with this in mind, I urge you to take a good look (cup of tea, glass of wine?) at these recipes before embarking on the cooking of them. Knowing your way around this book will equip you with enough recipes to cater for your family day in, day out, in all eventualities, with your sanity preserved and cooking like a professional.
Unless stated otherwise, each meal is intended to serve four people. This will obviously depend on how big your family is (or how hungry they are feeling!) so the quantities can be adapted accordingly.
