CATERING for a family’s varied tastes can be a nightmare at dinner time.
After her own research found that some mums are producing up to 63 meals a week to satisfy all the mouths in their family, bestselling cookery writer Annabel Karmel has whipped up a sizzling new recipe book packed with dishes that everyone can enjoy.
The children’s food guru, who has previously written 37 books about feeding toddlers and babies, has branched out with Annabel’s Family Cookbook, which features 100 easy-to-follow recipes that will appeal to tots, teens and time-stretched parents alike.
The idea is that parents can make life easier for themselves by cooking the same meal for the whole family, instead of slaving over separate dishes.
“It would seem that household kitchens are becoming more like cafes,” Karmel observes. “You can end up having to make separate meals for everybody, and it’s a complete nightmare, so you resort to giving chicken nuggets to your children because you know they’ll eat them.
“Instead, find something that’s yummy and that doesn’t alienate anybody in a recipe that’s great for the whole family,” the 50-year-old mum-of-three adds.
With chapter headings like Quick And Easy, Everyday Meals and Prepare Ahead, featuring recipes such as Vegetable Fusilli and Posh Fish Fingers, this is a cookbook for busy mums and dads. Nevertheless, it’s by no means a homage to children’s cooking either; grown-up dishes include Moroccan Lamb Tagine, Baked Sea Bass, and Vanilla Cheesecake. Here are two recipes from the book to try:
Posh Fish Fingers
Serves 4
400g lemon sole, cod, plaice or hake fillets, skinned
85g cornflakes
30g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
100g plain flour
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
4tbsp sunflower oil, for frying
Salt and black pepper
Cut the fish into strips. Put the cornflakes into a food processor and blitz, then pour into a bowl and mix together with the Parmesan.
Put the flour into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs in another bowl.
Now dip each piece of fish in the flour, then the eggs and finally the cornflake and Parmesan mixture.
Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry half the fish for four to five minutes, turning them regularly. Drain on kitchen paper.
Add the remaining two tablespoons of oil to the pan and cook the second batch of fish. Drain as before, then serve with chips or salad and lemon wedges.
Sweetcorn and broccoli fritters
(Makes 12)
150g broccoli, cut into florets
150g can sweetcorn, drained
150g self-raising flour
1 medium egg, beaten
2tbsp milk
2tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
2tbsp sweet chilli sauce
75g Cheddar cheese, grated
2tbsp finely chopped spring onion
Sunflower oil, for frying
Salt and black pepper
Steam the broccoli florets for about eight minutes, then chop into small pieces.
Blitz the sweetcorn in a food processor. Mix all the ingredients together, except the oil, and season to taste.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and fry for about two minutes on each side, or until golden.
- Annabel’s Family Cookbook by Annabel Karmel is published by Ebury Press, priced £20.
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