Delicious no-meat recipes for your holiday table.
When it comes to feeding children, do chefs have an advantage over the rest of us?
It was a question Fanae Aaron, a Los Angeles art director and new mother, asked herself as she began feeding her young son solid foods. To learn the answer, she began a two-year project, reaching out to chefs around the country to find out how they cooked at home for their families.
The result is the new cookbook “What Chefs Feed Their Kids: Recipes and Techniques for Cultivating a Love of Good Food,’’ to be published next week by Lyons Press. Although Ms. Aaron interviewed a variety of chefs with different backgrounds and specialties, she discovered a common theme when it came to feeding their children.
“The chef’s approach is much more about bringing children into your world of food,” said Ms. Aaron. “The thing they all had in common was an attitude toward feeding kids that was more engaging, to pique their kids’ curiosity and really share their own pleasure and enthusiasm of food with their kids.’’
Like all parents, chefs also must contend with picky eaters and children who are wary about trying a new food, Ms. Aaron said. But the chefs she interviewed also said their children consistently surprised them. One chef regularly takes her daughter to the farm where the family grows vegetables for the restaurant, and the child has developed a preference for bitter greens.
“When you don’t hold back, you’ll be surprised at what your kids enjoy eating,’’ said Ms. Aaron.
For Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving series, Ms. Aaron offers four dishes that will appeal to children even though some of the ingredients may surprise you, including a colorful pumpkin risotto, a flavorful curried chickpea salad and a red bean and walnut spread. And your dinner guests — children and adults alike — will be delighted when they discover you’ve added some savory waffles to the Thanksgiving table. The risotto and waffles both contain cheese, but you can easily find vegetarian rennet-free cheese at Whole Foods and other stores.
See the chefs’ recipes below. And visit the interactive recipe collection to see all the dishes in Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving so far; we will be adding new dishes daily.
What Chefs Feed Their Kids
Peter Berley’s Risotto With Pumpkin, Ginger and Sage
Chef Peter Berley says, “I’m always looking for ways to cook pumpkin in the fall when Halloween is all around — it always feels festive and comforting. If pumpkin season has passed, try using sweet potatoes or winter squash.”
For the risotto:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped leek (white part only)
3 cups peeled pumpkin or winter squash, cut in 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
5 cups water or vegetable stock
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely grated rennet-free Parmesan cheese
3 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (see below)
For the pumpkin seed topping:
1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of fine sea salt
Prepare the pumpkin seed topping:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, toss the seeds, oil and salt together. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and toast in oven for 15 minutes. Cool until crisp. Set aside.
To make the risotto:
1. In large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and, when warm, add the leeks, pumpkin or squash, and ginger and sauté for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the water or stock in a pot and season with salt and pepper if needed; keep warm over a low flame.
3. In the sauté pan, stir in the sage and rice. Once the rice starts to become translucent, add the white wine and stir. Cook until the wine is absorbed; then add the stock ladle by ladle, being sure the liquid is absorbed before adding the next ladle, and stirring frequently. Continue until the rice is al dente, about 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Add the butter and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 1 to 2 minutes, then stir in the cheese. Turn off the heat and let the risotto rest, uncovered, for 3 minutes before serving.
5. Add sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with parsley and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Yield: 4 servings.
What Chefs Feed Their Kids
Linton Hopkins’s Savory Waffles
“One thing my kids really love,” says Chef Linton Hopkins, “is when it’s raining outside at lunchtime and we make a batch of savory waffles. Instead of sugar and syrup, we just fold in Parmesan and Gruyère, if I have some sitting in the refrigerator, and salt and pepper. We have a waffle iron that has shapes of animals and a barn, so I ask my kids, ‘Do you want to be the pig today? Or the chicken? Or have a cow?’ ” Try adding herbs and other seasonal produce, like pumpkin purée, to the batter instead of cheese. In the springtime you can add sautéed and chopped asparagus to the batter.
2 cups waffle and pancake mix
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup grated rennet-free Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated rennet-free Gruyère or similar cheese
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and place a waiting plate to warm inside. Heat a waffle maker until a flick of water beads and bounces around.
2. In a bowl, add waffle mix, eggs, milk, oil, salt and pepper, and mix until just combined, adding more milk if the mixture is too thick. It should be the consistency of pudding. Then fold in the cheeses.
3. Lightly butter the waffle maker, and spoon judicious dollops of the mixture onto the center of the hot waffle iron and spread just a bit. The mixture will spread when the lid closes and expand as it cooks, so adding too much will be a bit messy as it bubbles out the sides.
4. As the waffles finish, use a fork to lift them off and put them in the oven to stay warm while the rest are made. Waffles are best served warm. Freeze any leftover waffles to enjoy later.
Yield: 4 servings.
What Chefs Feed Their Kids
Joan McNamara’s Curried Chickpea Salad
This dish is surprisingly good considering the ingredients are so simple, and it’s a cinch to make. It’s better to eat the same day, once you stir in the fresh herbs.
4 teaspoons best-quality olive oil
1 cup diced onions
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1. Heat a sauté pan large enough to easily hold the beans over medium heat. When hot, add the oil to heat, then add the onion and sauté until deeply colored, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring periodically.
2. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper (if using) and continue to sauté until the spices are aromatic and a bit toasted, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
4. Remove from heat and cool. Store in the refrigerator, or mix in the fresh cilantro or parsley and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.
What Chefs Feed Their Kids
Red Bean and Walnut Spread, from Ana Sortun
At her restaurant, Oleanna, in Cambridge, Mass., Chef Ana Sortun serves this popular dip with homemade string cheese and bread. To prepare it, Ms. Sortun spreads the dip out on plastic wrap, tops with herbs, pomegranate molasses and pomegranate seeds, and rolls the whole thing up. She then serves it in slices. Here we make the dip plain, spread it on Wasa Lite crackers, and use the herbs and pomegranate seeds on top.
1 cup dark red kidney beans, soaked overnight and rinsed well
3 cups water
1/4 white onion, minced
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup walnuts
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons chopped dill
2 teaspoons chopped mint or basil
2 teaspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses (you can find this at Whole Foods or similar markets)
Bread, crackers and string cheese for serving
Garnish for older children and adults: toasted walnuts and pomegranate seeds
1. Combine beans, water, onion and bay leaf in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer until tender, about an hour.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the walnuts out on a baking tray and toast for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once, and checking frequently until toasted.
3. Drain beans well and discard bay leaf. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, purée the beans with walnuts, butter, chopped garlic, salt and pepper until smooth and creamy.
4. Mix chopped herbs together and put aside a small amount for garnish. Blend the rest into the beans and add a splash of water if the mixture is too thick.
5. Season with salt and pepper and serve on warmed bread slices or crackers. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses and sprinkle with herb mix.
6. Serve next to some string cheese. For older children and adults, top with walnuts and pomegranate seeds.
Yield: 8 servings.
