Wee Chefs

Pepper Salad Bowls and Tomato Stacks

At a recent workshop, cooking with seasonal ingredients, a child made a roll up sandwich of wholemeal bread, cream cheese, steamed asparagus and strawberries; she then enjoyed eating it, because it was her creation. 

Cooking with real, raw ingredients means that only you decide which ingredients to use. It is visual – you can see what you are getting – with no need to agonise over a label to decipher exactly what you are going to have for supper. 

Home cooking is one route to a healthier diet, but the best news is that the peeling, stirring, kneading, measuring and pouring have an invisible added ingredient – it’s called learning - and lasts a lifetime. Here are some sample recipes to try out with your kids. 

Pepper salad bowls Serves 4 

Ingredients:
4 small peppers
1 chunky carrot 
3 large lettuce leaves
1 spring onion
2 radishes
A small stick of celery 
spring onion
4 cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon drained tuna
1 desert spoonful toasted oatmeal 

1. Cut the tops of the peppers off and remove the seeds from the inside. Wash them well and turn them upside down to drain. 

2. Use a potato peeler to carefully peel a large carrot. 

3. Grate about a third of the peeled carrot, keeping your fingers and knuckles well back from the grater. A grown up can guide a younger child’s hand. Put the grated carrot into the mixing bowl. 

4. Wash the lettuce leaves and roll them up like a Swiss Roll, use a blunt knife to cut the lettuce into small pieces, put the shredded lettuce into the bowl. Younger children can tear the lettuce into tiny pieces. 

5. Wash the radishes, and remove any roots. Chop the radishes into very small pieces that will fit into your pepper salad bowls. Put them into a bowl with the lettuce and carrot. 

6. Chop the celery into small pieces and add it to the bowl. 

7. Wash the spring onion and cut of the root. Use scissors to snip the green top into small pieces, carrying on as far down the onion stem as you can manage to. Finish chopping the onion, with a blunt knife. Chop the tomatoes in half and add the snipped onion and chopped tomatoes to the bowl of prepared ingredients. 

8. Add the tuna and toasted oatmeal and use your hands to carefully mix everything together. 

9. Dry your salad bowl with paper towel. Fill your pepper bowl with the salad. 

Tomato Stacks Serves 4 

Ingredients:

4 medium ripe tomatoes (250g)
75g mozzarella cheese (drain before use)
8 basil leaves (and 4 extra for decoration)
Extra virgin olive oil 

1. Push a fork into the tomatoes and plunge them into a bowl of boiling water for 15-30 seconds (depending how ripe the tomatoes are). Refresh the tomatoes briefly, in cold water. 

2. Peel the skin off of the cooled tomato, it should come away easily.

3. Use a cutlery knife to cut the cheese into 4 slices. Cut each slice in half, so that you have 8 slices. 

4. Cut the base of the skinned tomato with a serrated knife, so that it stands flat. Cut the tomatoes into three using a serrated knife. 

5. Place the flat base of the three tomatoes on a plate. Put a piece of mozzarella cheese on top and then a basil leaf. Place the middle slice of tomato on top of the basil, followed by another piece of mozzarella and a basil leaf and top with the top of the skinned tomato. 

6. Place a basil leaf on top for decoration. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top of the stack. Repeat to make four stacks – these are yummy with French bread. 

Fiona Bird is a mother of six and founder of Stirrin' Stuff, which aims to teach basic cooking skills to children through workshops and demonstrations. She has written for publications throughout the UK including The Green Parent and Organic Life. Based near the Angus town of Kirriemuir, Fi is also a former Scottish Masterchef. Visit her website at www.stirrinstuff.org for more recipes and tips.