I Love Food Recipes

When it comes to developing children’s palates, I have come to a few conclusions. The more you involve them in the cooking and seasoning of food, whether that’s a squeeze of lime or a sprinkling of herbs, the more interested they are. Exposing them to a range of tastes early on, and with the least fuss, means they are more prepared to try something new. And every child likes different things, which is fine; one of mine is a carb queen, one likes nothing more than a bowl of salad leaves, while the third loves meat. If you are largely cooking from scratch with whole, seasonal ingredients, your children will be eating well. Courgette and lamb boats The more you get children slicing, stirring and seasoning, the more likely they are to eat it all up. Prep 30 min Cook 1 hr Serves 8-12 4-6 large courgettes 3 tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped Salt and black pepper 40g pine nuts 50g raisins 400g minced lamb 2 tsp ground cinnam...

Salsa macha is a deliriously delicious chilli oil from Veracruz, a port on the eastern side of Mexico. It is made with toasted garlic, peanuts and sesame (an ingredient brought over from Africa, via the Caribbean), and it has a natural affinity with seafood – a must with raw seafood tostadas. Here I pair it with a British crab and new potato salad, which makes a lovely starter. Crab, new potato and watercress salad with pickled onions and salsa macha The chilli oil adds an intensely nutty, lightly fiery and terrifically garlicky spark of flavour to the salad. Leave out the sesame and peanuts for a simpler version. Chile de arbol can be found online and in good supermarkets, but substitute with any hot, dried red chilli. Prep 5 min Cook 40 min Serves 4 500g new potatoes (jersey royals, anya or pink fir apple are great varieties) Salt 100ml cider vinegar 3 tbsp caster sugar 2 large banana shallots, halved and finely sliced 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil The juice of 2 limes 200g dres...