This term’s Petits Chefs club is a smaller group of boys since it’s also a huge term for sports teams but I have a dedicated group who seem really excited to be learning some cooking skills and recipes. Since the smaller group is a little easier to manage, I have decided to use Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution cookbook as my guide, thus enabling me to bring in little snippets of my thoughts on the show which I am following. I certainly don’t mean to “preach” to the boys but education is the first step in any change and I think discussing some of the issues raised on the show will be great to get them thinking about what they eat and where it comes from.
Ok, enough of all that, onto this week’s recipe! I was thinking “spring” since the weather has been gorgeous. Nothing says spring like peas so I was drawn to the Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea sauce.
We actually used sour cream instead of crème fraîche since that is so hard to find in Toronto (well during a 30 minute break, that is!). I used full-fat sour cream since there were only 2 tablespoons in the recipe, I would rather eat a small amount of a full-fat product than a bucket of low or non-fat with all those chemicals and unpronounceable ingredients. I also couldn’t find fresh peas at short notice so I made sure to use organic frozen ones.
We started by dicing the bacon. I made the boys remove some of the fat since some rashers contained a lot. Even when we cooked it, there was still a lot of fat we had to drain from the pan.
We picked the mint leaves off the stalks and rolled the leaves, cutting them into fine strips:
Grated the cheese:
Then we got cooking:
Result?
Isn’t it beautiful? It tasted amazing – a combination of the mint and lemon juice really brought out the “spring” in this dish! From start to finish, including packing the dishwasher, about 40 minutes so definitely one I would add to my repertoire, considering I generally have all those ingredients on hand at home.
Bravo petits chefs!
mardi this is grand! love it when kids help in the kitchen. i am glad to say i am happy that i do not have to preach to soeren. from the day he could eat solids i cooked all of his baby food paying special care in what ingredients and products i use. it’s been a part of what he has grown up with. till today he eats all kinds of fruit and veggies and makes no big fuss. so i think it’s important to start early with kids and show them what the right choices in life are. later it becomes difficult and need a “revolution” to get the message across!
Yes Meeta, I firmly believe that education must start at home. Soeren is so lucky to have you as a mum to teach him all about real food! We have friends like that and their kids are a dream to eat out at a restaurant with…
It is terrific to see children starting out in the kitchen so early. I was very young when I started to cook and have kept the passion to cook with me my whole life. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if these children do the same!
Oh I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of these boys end up in a professional kitchen…
Great job petit chefs! Also love that you are using Jamie Oliver’s approach. It’s great to teach the little ones that cooking is approachable and you can get a good, tasty, healthy meal that doesn’t come out of a box – kudos!
Cheers,
C
Yes, we talked about how quick this was and how much better than Kraft Dinner it tasted.
Looks delicious! And I bet your boys know what the vegetables are called. We were appalled in the first episode when the kids didn’t know what a tomato looked like.
I know – so sad. In the British version too…
That looks fantastic! I think I’m going to accidentally show it to Moochie (since everything has to be her idea) and let her suggest we make it. Then I’ll get us the cookbook. We have tons of wild mint in our yard (or soon will) and she loves peas, so we’ll plant those again too.
I think it wouldn’t take much convincing with Mooch – so many kid friendly elements!
Beautiful dish Mardi. This is one of the perfect spring dishes to make.
It certainly does scream spring!
Hooray for Mardi and Jamie Oliver! Wish more people would take this initiative to teach our kids! Fresh herbs and citrus are so easy to add and make such a difference in taste.
You are right re: herbs and citrus – such easy flavour boosters!
Lovely dish! So great of you to be teaching the kids at your school how to cook. Jamie Oliver would be proud!
I wish I could teach them to cook all day everyday. How does “French through Food” sound to you?
FANTASTIC CHOICE of books! Everything I’ve tried out of that book so far has been a huge hit with my family. Can’t wait to see what you make next!
It’s hard to choose a next recipe because everything looks great!
I love this and what you are doing. Kids in the kitchen and cooking and learning about food.
It really is one of the highlights of my week!
Delightful spring pasta!
Thanks – this would be a great one to try with your daughter too!
Such an easy combination of flavours with a combination of colours to appeal to appetites of littlies.
Yes, they certainly appreciated the dish!
Nothing says spring like peas, mint and lemon. Favas are good with that mix, too. 😉
Oh yes, favas and even edamame would be fun to try!
That looks delightful! I love the combination of peas, mint and bacon. If I wasn’t on the road this weekend, I would rush out and buy all of the ingredients!
What’s great about this is that you usually have MOST of those ingredients on hand in the spring…
I don’t have that particular Jamie book so thanks for sharing. It looks very tasty.
It’s a GREAT book for kids because the recipes are so simple.
I love that you taught this recipe to kids. I’ve been cooking through the same book, and have taught some of the simpler recipes to my kids (who are older than your group but they have no idea in the kitchen). I have made this pasta dish myself and while it was intended for kids, I thought it was a wonderful flavour combination as well!
See I have been surprised by the boys’ knowledge in the kitchen… Our lunch program does try to introduce them to new foods and whilst they might not always like it, at least they are learning something!
Love the combination of ingredients, especially with the mint!
LL
Yes, mint is an ingredient I often forget about but it works so well in spring dishes!
wow, you’re doing such a great job with your petits chefs! I love the mint and peas combination… I actually might have all these ingredients at hand, definitely going to try this pasta recipe soon 😀
It’s such a simple recipe but so much flavour!
Yum, how good does that look – just printed out the recipe. Peas are my most favourite vegetable.
Check out Stephanie Alexander’s website. She started a schools kitchen garden project in Australia six years ago, following the success of her teaching programme in a Melbourne school. The Oz govt came on board and offer grants of up to $60,000 to schools to implement the programme.
Actually Mardi, you’d be happy to know there is a French chef – Chef Laurent, operating a school canteen, near here in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, having removed all junk food and serving up healthy, fresh-cooked fare instead.
Thanks for that idea Tami – that would actually be my dream to start a cooking/ growing food project…
and, do you know what Mardi? Knowing you, it will happen and good luck with it.
It will take time and I realise Spring has only just arrived, but an Autumn suggestion is to see if you can organsie to set aside a small plot of school ground and plant garlic. Plant, mulch well and voila, come Spring, garlic appears. Fresh, home grown garlic for Les Petits Chefs.
Actually Tami, there are a few of us who would LOVE to start a learning garden. You never know….
They must be SO proud of themselves. What a wonderful spring recipe. I love that they are wearing starched white jackets to cook in. It looks so professional and serious. And, I know, cooking nutritious, delicious, and economical food is a serious business. I love to see what you do with your students and marvel at your photography… and their young, expressive, and very clean hands.
🙂
Valerie
Actually they are wearing their school uniforms! LOL!
Yay! Another term of Petits Chefs!
I LOVE that photo of the rolled up mint leaves, it’s a scary mint monster! Don’t let him get me with his big minty mouth!
Conor I think we need YOU to come and give a guest class!!
It is so vital for people to know what they are eating and where it comes from! I try to impart that knowledge to my children, so when it comes time for them to make decisions, they can be educated ones. I love this recipe. I have peas growing in the garden, but at present they are only an inch tall! I need to save this recipe for a month or so!
Casey – those are exactly my reasons for starting this club!
Good luck! I am sure you will have a real impact on their future eating choices!
What a perfect meal for a family – healthy, fast and easy. I am going to add this to our cooking plan, especially with spring peas showing up at the markets.