DUCK WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH

This is so basic that it is almost not a recipe at all.
You only need a leg of such per person and around 100 gr of diced butternut squash and sweet potato per person (some supermarkets sell them already diced), a bit of olive oil (2-3- tablespoons) and salt.

Preheat the oven at 250 degrees. Salt the duck. Put the duck on a tray with a bit of water. Roast 20 minutes at 250 degrees. Then add the olive oil and salt to the vegetables and add it to the duck. Roast for a further 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200 degrees and roast for another 30 minutes. It is a very nice and simple dinner.

SALMON IN PAPILLOTE

Fish in papillote is a very healthy and easy meal. You need:
- a steak of salmon
- half a carrot
- half a leak
- half a courgette
- half a lemon: zest and juice
- salt
-1 table spoon of olive oil
- a splash of white wine

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees.
Take a big rectangle of aluminium foil.  Put the oil on top. Salt the fish and put it on the olive oil. Cut the carrot courgettes and leaks in thin batons and put them on the salmon. Add the zest of the lemon, the lemon juice and the wine. Make a packet or bag with the olive oil sealing well all the sides so that air cannot get out. If you are not sure that it is properly closed put the packet on another piece of foil and seal it too. Put the packet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

The flavors are very subtle so most children like this. You can serve it with rice or mash potatoes. You can also do this with cod, halibut or any other vegetables. If you are serving this to adults you may want to cut the baking time to 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

This is very very delicious - and a bit (only a bit though) healthier than normal chocolate mousse.

You need:

80 ml refined olive oil (unless you are an olive oil addict it is better to avoid virgin olive oil for this as the taste is very strong)

60 gr caster sugar

150 gr dark chocolate

4 large eggs (separated)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a pan over a bowl of simmering water. Once it is melted let it cool down a little. Add the 4 egg yokes and whisk it all well. It will become a very thick paste. Then pour the olive oil slowly while you keep whisking it.

Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Then add the sugar and keep whisking until the mixture becomes glossy. Beat one third of the egg whites with the chocolate mixture. Then fold in carefully the remaining egg whites.

Pour in a glasses or ramekins and let it cool down in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Sprinkle a little bit of Maldon salt over the mousse before serving it.  You can also shape the mousse into  'quenelles' with a spoon (warmed under the hot water tap) and serve it with an orange salad. 

Anything that involves chocolate and whisking egg whites is a winner with my children.They thought that the taste was interesting and even tried the salt. The recipe contains raw eggs so eat within 24 hours (this suited us fine)

MARSHMALLOWS

Do not be fooled by the fact that these are home made as they are still full of unrefined sugar. They are really not good for children (teeth, obesity, sugar-rush, you name it) so do not do them often. Still, they will make you a really popular mum for a while.  The recipe comes from James Martin.

You need
- 9 sheets of gelatine
- 450 gr sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid glucose (or golden syrup)
- 200 ml water (plus a bit more to soak the gelatine)
- two egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- lots of icing sugar ad cornflour
- sunflower oil
and a candy thermometer

Oil a shallow baking tray and dust it well with icing sugar and cornflour.
Soak the gelatine in a little bit of cold water. 
While the gelatine is getting soft, boil the sugar, glucose and water until it reaches 127 degrees. If you do not have a candy thermometer, this should take around 15 minutes. As soon as the mixture reaches the right temperature add the gelatine leaves and the soaking water. 
While the sugar is boiling, whisk the egg whites and then add the sugar mixture slowly while you keep whisking ( you may want to put the syrup into a jug for this). When the eggs mixture thickens add the vanilla extract. And if you want to add some colouring do it now ( 2 -3 drops should be enough)
Put the thick mixture into the oiled and dusted tray and let it all rest overnight.
Use a knife to loosen the edges and put it all on a surface dusted with lots of cornflour and sugar. Cut the marshmallows into squares and roll them in (even more!) cornflour and sugar.

The children were not allowed to approach the syrup as it is far too easy to get burnt, but they enjoyed cutting the marshmallows and dusting them (and burning and eating them with friends)

CARROT SALAD

You need:

- four carrots

- fresh coriander (to taste)

- a table spoon of sesame seeds

- two table spoons of olive oil and one of vinegar

- salt

Grate the carrots. Toast the sesame seeds on a pan over low to medium heat (watch this all the time as they burn very easily). Add the seeds and the coriander to the carrots. Mix the olive oil, salt and vinegar and add it to the salad.
You can replace the sesame and coriander by pine nuts and parsley.

Children like using graters but supervise them closely as they can cut themselves easily. Also, careful when you toast the sesame seeds as some of them pop out. 

YOGURT CAKE WITH PISTACHIOS

This comes from Moro's cook book.
You need:

3 eggs, separated
70 gr sugar
one teaspoon vanilla extract
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
zest of half orange
350 gr yogurt
20 gr flour
a handful of shelled and chopped pistachios
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they become pale. Add the vanilla extract, yogurt, zests, lemon juice and flour and mix well. Wish up the egg whites and mix it with the yolks mixture.Put it all in a baking dish and then put the dish into a wider tin. Put the tin into a preheated oven at 180 degrees and add water to the tin until it comes halfway up the baking dish. Cook for 30-35 minutes (adding the pistachios for the last 10 minutes)  until brown. It will sink after you take it out but what counts is the taste. The smell is amazing and children cannot stop eating this.

ROAST TOMATOES

Cover a roasting tin with cherry tomatoes. Add salt, olive oil (as much as you want) crushed garlic (2-3 cloves) and if you wish a few basil leaves too. Toss it all well with your hands or (if you do not like the smell of garlic) with a spoon. Roast at 200 degrees for 40 minutes or until they start to get black around the edges.  Eat it with meat, cod, omelets, on their own, on toast, with a salad...

You can do this with normal tomatoes too if you cut them in quarters (give it 15 more minutes in the oven then) but children tend to prefer cherry tomatoes for some reason.