Best thing since sliced bread!

Breakfast bread

We love baking fresh bread for (or with) the children. This is part of our Food for Life Gold Award commitment and it means we can control what goes into our loaves. Unlike shop bought, sliced bread our recipe uses no (or lower) salt, no (or lower) sugar and added flavours like herbs, grated vegetables, even spices and fruit. Here’s a basic bread recipe that we use to make breakfast bread. Now, if you’re not baking for tens of small children, you might be thinking, “What am I going to do with seven loaves of bread and how will they fit in my oven?”, and, if that’s you, we’ve done the maths so you can make just one.

Ingredients

Makes 7 loaves (each loaf yields 10 slices)

• 1.5 kg white bread flour

• 1.5 kg whole meal bread flour

• 30g yeast

• 1 tsp sugar (optional)

• 2L water more or less

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Makes 1 loaf (10 slices)

• 215g white bread flour

• 215g wholemeal bread flour

• 5g yeast

• Pinch sugar (optional)

• 300ml water (more or less)

• 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

• Mix yeast with sugar and lukewarm water.

• Add the wet ingredients in the flour, mix until well combined

• Rest for 30 min in a container covered with a damp cloth.

• Mix again, folding the dough on itself for 5 min, rest another 30 minutes.

• Repeat once more and rest until double in size. This will help to mix the ingredient well in the dough and develop a gluten structure.

• If using a kitchen mixer you can skip all this by just kneading the dough for 10 minutes, leave it to rise until double in size covered with a damp cloth.

• Once well risen, shape into 7 (or 1) bread loaves and proove in loaf tins lined with parchment paper until double in size.

• Make sure to keep the loaves (loaf) covered to avoid drying the top.

• Finally, bake the bread for 35 min at 185C, leave to cool 15 minutes before releasing from the tins.

Homemade Baked Beans

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g haricot or cannellini beans (or a mixture)

• Vegetable oil – a splash for frying

• 200g onion, finely chopped

• 2 sticks celery, finely diced

• 2 medium carrots, finely diced

• 1 sweet potato (or equivalent weight butternut squash), finely diced

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• 2 x 400g/14oz chopped tinned tomatoes

• 2 tbsp tomato puree 

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 2 tsp mixed herbs

• 2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp ground cumin

Method

• In a large saucepan, add a splash of oil and fry the onion, carrots, celery and sweet potato until soft, stirring to avoid them sticking or colouring.

• Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins, then stir in the paprika, mixed herbs and cumin.

• Next add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and vinegar and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

• Using a stick blender, blitz the sauce to a smooth consistency, then drain the beans and add to the pan.

• Cook for 5 -10 minutes to heat the beans in the sauce

Serve with jacket potatoes, toast, bread, or potato wedges.

Spiced Root Vegetable and Red Lentil Soup with Wholemeal Scones

A vibrant soup full of added benefits to help you through those gloomy winter days. With a rainbow of vegetables, added lentils and turmeric, the “superspice”, a bowlful will give you protein, fibre and vitamins; support your gut microbiome; soothe inflammation, and give your immune system the boost it needs to battle the winter germs.

Ingredients for the soup

Serves 5
4 large carrots
2 large parsnips
2 red bell peppers
250g red split lentils
1/2 large red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tin of coconut milk
Water or stock to your liking for thickness
2 tbsp of olive oil or vegetable oil of choice
Chopped chives or parslery to garnish (optional)

Method

Heat the oven at 180C fan.

Clean your carrots, pepper and parsnips, chop them into bite sized chunks.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the chopped veg evenly across it.

Bake for 30 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile, heat up the oil in a large pan, add the diced onion and fry for 5 minutes or until soft.

Add the minced garlic and spices and fry for 1-2 minutes on a medium heat, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.

Add in your roasted veggies, red lentils, stock of choice or water, coconut milk and cook for 20 minutes or until lentils are cooked and you have reached the desired consistency for your soup.

Blend until smooth for a thick soup or leave it chunky if you prefer. Scatter herbs for a garnish if using.

Remember you can add more stock or water for a thinner soup, but we find with little children it’s best to serve it as a thick purée for maximum spoon adherence!

Serve with warm bread or our Wholemeal Savoury Scones.

Ingredients for wholemeal savoury scones

Makes about 10 scones
140g self-raising flour
50g wholemeal flour
1 tsp of garlic, minced
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp thyme or sage
1 tsp of baking powder
45g butter or vegan margarine
120ml milk or vegan milk

Heat the oven at 220C/200C fan/gas 7.

Tip the dry ingredients into a large bowl, then mix.

Add the butter, then rub in with your fingers until the mix looks like fine crumbs.

Make a well in the dry mix, then add the milk and combine it quickly with a spatula but do not overwork - it will seem pretty wet at first.

Scatter some flour onto the work surface and tip the dough out.

Dredge the dough and your hands with a little more flour, then gently fold the dough over 2-3 times until it’s a little smoother.

Pat into a round about 3 cm deep.

Take 5cm cutter, dip it into some flour and plunge into the dough, then repeat until you have 10 scones.

Place the scones on a tray lined with parchment/baking paper, brush the top with water or your milk of choice.

Bake for 10 minutes until risen and golden on top.

Note: Added salt is an acquired taste and not recommended for very young children, so you’ll notice there’s no salt in these recipes. Adults who are used to salt may want to add some to their portion.

Halloween Bliss Balls

Halloween is a lot of fun but it’s fair to say that it’s not much of a treat for the environment when all those plastic treat wrappers pile up for years in landfill. This year some of our Pre-School children turned Trick or Treating from a nightmare to a dream over at Redland. They went on a hunt around the nursery looking for five hidden magic ingredients then brought them back to the kitchen to transform them into blissful treats, completely free from plastic. Here’s what they found on their hunt ….

1 cup of rolled oats

250g dried dates

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1 tablespoon cinnamon

And here’s how to the ingredients into Bliss Balls:

Tip all the ingredients into a food processor with a little splash of water and blitz until it comes together into a moist crub. Then tip out and, using clean hands, mould into balls about the size of a walnut, then skewer on a kebab stick to serve. A neat trick for a yummy treat!

Sardine and Tomato Pasta

Sardine and Tomato Pasta

Oily fish, like sardines and mackerel, contain long-chain omega-3 fatty acids which can help to prevent heart disease and support our nervous systems, as well as being a source of Vitamin D. They’re also the “marmite” of proteins and definitely divide opinion. This recipe goes down a storm at nursery. The fish breaks down into the sauce giving it depth and richness without being overtly fishy so it’s a great one for beginners!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely diced

1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

120g tin MSC sardines

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp oregano or mixed herbs

400g tinned chopped organic tomatoes (we use Essentials)

Large handful fresh spinach

1 small tin sweetcorn (optional)

1/2 no salt stock cube or tsp boullion 

Pasta of your choice

Method

Soften onion, pepper and garlic in tablespoon of olive oil on a medium heat, then add paprika and herbs and mix to combine.

Add tomatoes and sardines and heat through, mashing the sardines down into the sauce.

Stir in spinach and allow to wilt, then turn down the heat and simmer while you cook the pasta.

Put the stock in with the pasta water, cook according to packet instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water to loosen the sauce just before serving.

Serve with seasonal veg on the side.

Zesty Lime and Coconut Cake

Zesty Lime and Coconut Cake

This vegan recipe is super quick to make and works well as a base for lots of different flavours - here with lime zest and coconut, but we have more ideas below. As well as being vegan, it only has half the added sugar you might expect as it follows our half sugar to flour rule for healthy baking. So, it’s delicious, versatile and not too sweet -what’s not to like!

Ingredients

60ml sunflower oil

200ml oat milk

100g light brown sugar

Zest of a lime

40g dessicated coconut

200g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp bicarinate of soda

Medium loaf tin, lined with baking parchment

Method

Blend the first four ingredients together, then add the remaining ingredients and whisk together. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake at 180c for 20-25 mins until golden brown.

Ready for a change? Switch out the lime and coconut for one of these combinations:

Grated carrot and orange zest

Pineapple pieces and cinnamon

Grated courgette and apple

Cocoa and grated beetroot

Pumpkins aren't just for carving

If you’ve got a pumpkin glut or you’re feeling guilty about throwing away the juicy bits from your Halloween carving projects, try these tasty recipes for curried pumpkin soup, spiced pumpkin swirls or smoky roasted seeds. If you didn’t go down the pumpkin path this year, all these recipes will work just as well with butternut squash.

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Purée

This is the base for the soup and the cinnamon swirls below. You can omit the honey if you prefer, but a sparing little glaze makes the pumpkin especially flavoursome. If you’ve already scooped out the flesh to carve your pumpkin, then the roasting time may be shorter so keep an eye on it in the oven and take it out when it yields easily to a fork.

Ingredients

·        A pumpkin

·        Runny Honey

Method

·        Cut pumpkin into large chunks

·        Scoop out the seeds and “stringy stuff”

·        Drizzle flesh with a little honey

·        Lay the pumpkin pieces on a non-stick or parchment-lined tray

·        Bake at 180c for 45 to 60 minutes, or until soft.

·        Cool the pumpkin and scoop out the flesh from the skin

·        Purée in a blender or food processor, or simply mash until smooth

This will keep in a container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

A warming, mildly spiced soup that’s gorgeously orange and totally delicious. We serve ours with homemade wholemeal bread for a hearty tea-time meal.

Ingredients

·        1 tbsp unsalted butter or vegetable oil

·        1 whole onion, diced

·        2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

·        2 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated

·        1½ tsp curry powder

·        ¾ tsp ground cumin

·        ½ tsp ground coriander

·        Small pinch of cinnamon

·        950ml chicken or vegetable stock

·        800g pumpkin purée (see above for recipe)

·        3 tbsp double cream (optional)

·        Salt and pepper (optional)

Method

·        Heat the butter or oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat and sauté the onion until soft

·        Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for a further two minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

·        Pour in the stock and pumpkin purée

·        Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

·        Remove from the heat and purée the soup with a stick blender.

·        Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with a scattering of roasted pumpkin seeds. Remember salt is not recommended for younger children.

Spiced Pumpkin Swirls

These are quick, simple and great to make with your little chefs at home.

Ingredients

·        1 pack ready rolled puff pastry

·        500g pumpkin purée

·        1 tsp mixed spice

·        2 tbsp caster sugar (optional)

Method

·        Gently lay the ready rolled pastry out on a clean surface.

·        Spread the pumpkin purée evenly across the pastry. You can use the back of a spoon or even a pair of clean little hands.

·        Sprinkle the mixed spice as evenly as possible over the pumpkin

·        Sprinkle on the sugar. The purée is a little sweet already so adjust the sugar to your taste or leave it out altogether.

·        From the long edge, roll the pastry into a sausage shape.

·        Carefully cut into slices using a sharp knife.

·        Lay the swirls flat on a non-stick or parchment-lined baking tray with a little space between them to allow them to puff up as they cook.

·        Bake at 180c for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

·        Allow to cool and dust with a tiny bit of icing sugar if you’re feeling fancy.

Smoky Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

A nutritious snack, a stylish garnish for soup or a crunchy addition to salads.

Ingredients

Quantities will vary depending on the amount of seeds you gather from your pumpkin

·        Pumpkin seeds

·        Olive oil

·        Smoked paprika

Method

·        Boil the seeds in water for 10 minutes. You can salt the water first but remember young children should limit their salt intake.

·        Drain the seeds, pour them into a bowl and coat them well with a glug of olive oil.

·        Spread evenly over a non-stick or parchment-lined baking tray.

·        Bake at 200c for 10-15 minutes until they begin to brown. Check on them during cooking because the timing will depend on the size of the seeds.

·        Remove from the oven and sprinkle with smoked paprika.

·        Let the seeds completely cool before eating.

These recipes were created, styled and photographed by George, our chef at Snapdragons Horfield. He’d love to see how you get on making them, so why not send us a photo of you and your finished dishes on social media using #snapdragonsnurserykitchen

Scottish Oatcakes

We've got a Scottish treat for Burns Night tonight - some delicious oatcakes! Have a go at these with your children.

Ingredients

• 160g medium oatmeal

• 140g medium porridge oats

• a small handful of sunflower seeds

• 75ml olive oil (rapeseed works well too)

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix in the oil.

2. Pour in the boiling water - it should be around 150ml, but add less because you can always add more.

3. Mix with a spoon at first until it's cooled a bit, then knead with your hands and shape the dough into a ball

4. Sprinkle some oatmeal on a flat surface, turn out the dough and roll or pat it out until it's 5mm thick.

5. Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter, re-roll and continue until all the dough is used up.

6. Carefully lift the oatcakes onto a lightly greased baking tray and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 20-25 minutes.

7. Place on a wire cooling rack and then store in an airtight tin for up to a week.

Variations

As long as you keep the basic mix the same, you can experiment with the flavours: use different seeds or add your favourite herbs or spices. These oatcakes work equally well with savoury or sweet toppings, so get creative! We love them with butter, cream cheese, cheddar or dips. What are your favourite toppings?

Baked apples with crumble topping

Ingredients

For the crumble topping:

• 30g rolled oats

• 20g butter

• 10g dark brown soft sugar

For the stuffed apples:

• 4 dessert apples (washed)

• 30g finely chopped dates

• 15g butter

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a small baking dish with baking parchment.

Make the crumble topping:

Mix the oats and sugar together in a small mixing bowl. Melt the butter then add it to the oats and sugar, combine thoroughly and set aside.

Prepare the stuffed apples:       

1. Peel the top quarter of the apples, slice off the peeled section and turn the apples onto the cut side to stop them browning.

2. Dice the peeled apple tops, discarding the stem.

3. Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the chopped apple and cinnamon. Cook gently for 3-4 minutes, remove from the heat and combine with the dates.

4. Using a vegetable peeler or melon baller, remove the cores from the apples, being careful not to go through the bottom of the apple.

5. Fill the apples with the date mixture, firming down the stuffing gently.

6. Top with a spoonful of crumble mix, cover with foil and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the apples are soft and the crumble topping is golden brown.

7. Serve with crème fraiche, cream or ice cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

This recipe is gluten free. For dairy free, use coconut oil instead of butter and serve with coconut yoghurt.

Vegetable Sushi

What you'll need

A selection of fresh vegetables and herbs in season. We used:

• Beetroot, roasted

• Carrot

• Broad beans

• Cucumber

• Chives

Sushi Rice

• Rice Wine Vinegar

• Nori sheets

• Black sesame seeds

Reduced salt soy sauce for dipping.

A sushi mat or new J-Cloth for rolling.

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Method

1. Prepare your vegetables by cutting the carrots, cucumber and beetroot into batons, podding and skinning the broad beans and finely chopping the chives. Blanch the carrots and broad beans in boiling water for a minute then drain and refresh in cold water.

2. Rinse and cook the sushi rice according to the packet instructions until it is tender and sticky. Drain any excess liquid and stir through a good splash of rice wine vinegar and cool quickly by spreading out on a board or plate.

3. Take a sheet of nori and place it on the sushi mat or damp J-Cloth. With damp hands spread a handful of rice over the nori leaving the top third empty. Make a thin line of vegetables down the middle of the rice.

4. Take the nearest edge of the mat or cloth and use it to roll the nori around the filling as tightly as you can, keeping the filling in place. Seal the top edge of the nori in place by dampening with water. With a sharp knife slice the roll into sections and arrange on a plate, cut side up.

You can make rolls in the same way without the nori sheet and then roll the sushi in black sesame seeds and chopped chives like we did!

Eat as they are or dip into low salt soy sauce.

Healthier Coronation Chicken Sandwich

As it's National Sandwich Week, we thought we'd rustle up one of our favourites for you to try at home.

Ingredients

• Shredded chicken from 2 breasts

• 1 tbsp mayonnaise

• 1 tbsp low fat yoghurt

• 1 heaped tsp mild curry powder

• 1/2 diced mango

• Juice of half a lime

Method

1. Mix the mayo, yoghurt and curry powder, together. Add the mango, chicken and lime juice and mix again.

2. Serve in a wholemeal bread sandwich. Delicious with jacket potatoes too!

Herby pasta with pea & basil sauce

We're back with a delicious fresh pasta dish that is so simple you'll wonder why you've never tried it before! Fresh pasta is just the best and you can free batches of the dough for use later. It should always either be frozen or eaten on the day you make it - it should never see the inside of a fridge!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 300g plain 00 flour

• 3 eggs

• Fresh chives, parsley and marjoram

For the sauce

• 300g peas

• 1 clove garlic

• 40g parmesan, grated

• 150g ricotta

• Small bunch basil

• Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

• Black pepper

Method

1. Put the flour in a bowl and add the eggs then gradually work the flour in until the mixture comes together. If it’s dry add a little water. Turn out onto the work surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Tear, snip or chop the herbs and work them into the dough until evenly distributed.

2. Tear off little balls of the dough and roll them between your hands or on the work surface to form the worm-like pici. Of course, you can make any pasta shapes you like and use a pasta machine to help if you have one.

3. To make the sauce, boil the peas for 2 minutes, then drain. Add garlic, herbs, lemon zest and juice, then blitz in a food processor. Stir in the ricotta and parmesan and a little black pepper.

4. Cook the pasta for 5 minutes in boiling water then drain, retaining a little of the cooking water which you can add to the sauce if it seems too dry. Mix the sauce and pasta then serve with an extra grating of parmesan.

Hot Cross Buns

We've had some great responses to our first episodes of The Nursery Kitchen and now have some new surprises to share with you.

You'll now be able to download our recipes as printable cards, that you can store and keep at home, meaning you can easily get up and cook with your children whenever you want to! These are the same cards we provide our nurseries with too, so your children will be cooking the same tasty recipes at nursery with their friends.

We've got two so far, but more to follow, so grab your chefs' hats and cook along with us!

Pizza

Hot Cross Buns

Proper pizzas

Our new episode of The Nursery Kitchen is all about making the perfect pizza! We see a lot of attempts at making pizza that just don't make the grade, so want to make sure everyone knows how easy it is to make your own dough for a base. For our guide below, we've made a simple mozzarella and garlicky basil topping, but feel free to experiment with some others of your own!

Ingredients for dough

• 500g bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ sachet dried yeast
• 400ml warm water
• oil, for greasing

Ingredients for basil puree

• bunch of basil
• olive oil
• clove of garlic

Toppings

• Tomato passata (not tomato puree)
• 3 balls mozzarella, sliced

Method

1. Measure the flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir yeast into the warm water and pour into the flour. Mix first with a spoon then turn onto a floured surface and knead with your hands until it is smooth and not sticky. Oil the bowl and place the dough back, covering with clingfilm before leaving it to prove for an hour.
2. Meanwhile, pick the leaves off a bunch of basil and put them in a small jug with a glug of olive oil and a crushed clove of garlic. Blitz with a stick blender to make a puree.  
3. When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide it into even sized balls. The recipe makes 4 large pizzas or about 12 child-sized. Roll the dough out until it's your favourite thickness, then place on an oven tray.
4. Spoon on some passata (not tomato puree!) and spread it around, then place some slices of mozzarella on top and drizzle with your lovely basil puree.
5. Cook in a hot oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Eat!

Welcome to The Nursery Kitchen

We're excited to bring you a new series, all about cooking and we've called it The Nursery Kitchen! We love cooking at Snapdragons and try to encourage the children to prepare and eat healthy and fun meals throughout their nursery day and their lives in general.

With Shrove Tuesday coming up tomorrow, the first episode is all about pancakes! Big fluffy American ones that are a bit different than your usual crepes. We show you three variations on a theme, all using the same basic recipe. Try blueberries paired with lemon curd, roasted butternut squash pancakes topped with grated cheese, or spinach pancakes partnered with homemade tomato sauce. Have a read of the recipe below and then watch the video to see how easy it is!

Ingredients (to serve 4-6)
135g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
130ml milk
1 egg
2 tbsp butter