Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Serves: 8
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
about 500g potatoes, peeled and cut into medium chunks
about 300g carrots, peeled and cut into medium chunks
about 200g swede (or parsnips), peeled and cut into medium chunks
2 eating apples, cored and cut into wedges
1 large (or 2 small) red (or brown) onions, cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, bashed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, bashed
3 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil
200g kale or cavolo nero
salt and pepper
Veg Portions / Serving: 3
Recipe donated by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for Veg Power. Portrait photography by Matt Austin | mattaustinimages.co.uk. Food photography by Claire Wright | addsomeveg.com.
I cooked this incredibly simple dish for comedian and self-confessed veg-dodger Ross Noble, in answer to his challenge: “can you make vegetables edible?” I’m pleased to say, it won him over! The recipe can easily be customized to whichever roots and greens you have to hand.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the potatoes, carrots, parsnip or swede, apples and onion into a large roasting tray. Add the garlic, bashed spices, some salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Stir well. Roast in the oven for about 50 minutes, until everything is completely tender and starting to colour, giving the veg a good stir about halfway through cooking.
Meanwhile, tear the kale leaves off the stalks, ripping the leaves into large pieces as you go. Put these into a large bowl, add another 1 tablespoon oil and some salt and pepper and mix well with your hands so all the kale leaves are coated with oil and seasoning.
Add the kale to the tray of cooked veg, arranging it in a layer on top of the veg and return to the oven for 10 minutes or until crisp. Serve straight away. This is delicious with a simple raw slaw made with shredded cabbage and grated carrot, and dressed with oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper – and a few toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds sprinkled over, if you like.
Engaging Kids
Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.
Kids in the kitchen
Lots of quick wins for the kids here, including peeling and bashing the garlic, measuring the oil, ripping the kale leaves off the stalks, tearing the leaves into big pieces and grinding the pepper and salt.
Activities
While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.
Sensory
Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.
Serving
The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Hugh is a multi-award winning writer and broadcaster known for his uncompromising commitment to seasonal, ethically-produced food and his concern for the environment. He has earned a huge following through his River Cottage TV series and books, as well as campaigns such as Hugh’s War on Waste, Britain’s Fat Fight and his War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita.
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