Tana Ramsay’s Family Kitchen: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Every Family. Tana Ramsay
Food on the go doesn’t have to be basic or boring. The challenge is to think of ways of incorporating healthy options. The only catch is, you want ideas which can be made the night before, or put together quickly, as we all need to rush out of the door on a weekday morning and none of us has time to fiddle around. Even being able to have sandwich fillings ready, or salads to spoon into containers, is a start.
The other important aspect to consider is choosing things that will satisfy – you don’t want your children to end up picking up a bag of crisps or a chocolate bar because lunch left them feeling hungry. You want to have energy and feel like you have had something healthy and filling – and a little different from the ordinary cheese sandwich.
Very basic, very tasty!
300g/10½oz self-raising flour
½ tsp mustard powder
½ tsp paprika
75g/3oz butter
6 slices honey roast ham, chopped into 1-cm pieces
185g/6½oz mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
250ml/9fl oz milk
6 tbsp finely grated parmesan (to sprinkle on the top)
Makes: 12 muffins
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
1 Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/GM5.
2 Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin (alternatively, use muffin cases in the holes – I prefer this).
3 Sieve the flour, mustard powder and paprika into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until this resembles breadcrumbs. Add the ham and cheese, then stir in the egg and milk.
4 Spoon equal amounts of the mix into the 12 muffin cases and sprinkle a little parmesan on top of each.
5 Bake for 20 minutes.
6 Remove to a wire cooling rack.
Tip
• It’s a good idea to make these in bulk and them freeze the muffins individually. You can then take them out of the freezer the night before.
These pizzas are just like savoury Danish pastries – hence the name! I like to make a batch and freeze them for packed lunches.
300g/10½oz strong white flour
½ tsp fast-acting/easy-bake yeast
½ tsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
200ml/7fl oz tepid water
4 tbsp passata
100g/4oz thinly sliced ham or Parma ham
1 tsp dried oregano
125g/5oz grated mozzarella
salt and pepper
Makes: 12
Prep time: 20 minutes (but best to leave the dough to rise for 40 minutes)
Cooking time: 25 minutes
1 Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/GM4.
2 I have an electric food mixer, so tend to make my dough using that. It is no easier using the mixer, however, it just saves a bit of time and allows you to be doing something else while the mixer works away. Having said that, kneading dough has to be one of the most satisfying and pleasing things to do and, if the house is quiet and there’s nobody asking me to do a hundred other things, it really is very relaxing!
3 To make the dough, put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. If using a mixer, put all the wet ingredients in as well (the oil and water) and turn on the machine. If making by hand, make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and water. Using a spoon to begin with, stir the liquid around and as the flour slowly collapses into the liquid, mix into a dough. Once you have a lump of dough, start using your hands. Bring the dough onto a well-floured work surface and begin kneeding. Using the heel of your hands, pull the dough towards you before pushing back into the main mound of mixture. Alternate hands, and before long you will have a lovely, soothing rhythm going that will be doing no end of good to the muscle tone in your upper arms!
4 After 5 minutes, place the dough into a clean mixing bowl and leave in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes.
5 After the 40 minutes is up, the dough should have nearly doubled in size. Take out of the bowl and knead again for a minute or so before pulling the dough into a rectangular shape, roughly 40cm x 25cm, on a large chopping board.
6 Spoon the passata over the pizza dough and spread evenly around. Sprinkle evenly with the ham, dried oregano, mozzarella and seasoning.
7 Turn the pizza so that the longest side of the rectangle is in front of you. Very gingerly, start rolling the pizza up, just like a swiss roll.
8 Cut into 12 pieces, approximately 1cm thick and carefully put on a baking sheet, lined with baking parchment, cut side up.
9 Bake for 25 minutes.
This is great served in a little Tupperware tub to accompany a simple sandwich or muffin – and a good way to approach Brussels sprouts … Love them or hate them.
4 Brussels sprouts, finely shredded
4 grated carrots
1 grated apple
1 stick celery, finely sliced
2 tbsp raisins
8 seedless white grapes, cut into quarters
½ lemon, juice
2 tbsp mayonnaise (some prefer 2 tbsp salad cream)
Makes: 4 portions
Prep time: 20 minutes
1 Finely shred the Brussels sprouts into a mixing bowl, add the carrots, apple and the celery, the raisins and the grapes. Squeeze over the lemon juice and stir through the mayonnaise.
2