Tag: kids

Gennaro Esposito opens a cooking school for “special” kids – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

In the new kitchen of Casa Mehari there is everything: it is like that of a restaurant, with all the necessary and safe equipment for the kids to work with, alongside professionals who will guide them with courses designed for starters. They will give lessons on pbaking, pastry making as well as actual cooking, but also dining. «Seeing the enthusiasm for all these new tools was exciting. We’re giving him a push, we’re telling him “you put yours, we give you the space to move forward” he says, his voice full of emotion Maria Trapanese, for everyone the beloved Mariolinasoul of La Bottega dei Semplici Pensieri, who on this project will work with the social enterprise La Scheggia, which is instead dedicated to supporting young people who are victims of addictions.

The new “Casa Mehari restaurant”

In the kitchen of Casa Mehari they will be together and the kids involved, all around 20/30 years old, will immediately put the teachings into practice: both to be employed outside and to create a real restaurant inside the boss’s former villa, which has a beautiful garden complete with a swimming pool. Small convivial moments are already being organized alongside the many cultural events of the associations it hosts, but the aim is to have a real Casa Mehari menu, like in a restaurant. «All this has made the kids very responsible. They feel they have the tools to build a future, to make it”continues Mariolina.

Inclusion and «motivation

«Cooking is one of those jobs that can stimulate all the senses, says Gennaro Esposito when we ask him why cooking, in his opinion, is proving to be a privileged tool for redemption with many other highly successful projects – above all PizzaAut – involving children with disabilities. «We need to stimulate their sensitivity, show them that there is a job in which what counts is creativity, and not disability. There is a lot of talk about inclusion, but in reality there are always few concrete attempts. I would rather talk about motivation: you have to give people motivation to make sure that they come out, that they show talents that you would never have thought of. But they are useful patience, feeling, love, to show a new path to those who often live in the belief that they have no right to access the dynamics of real life: for this reason we will never work hard enough. We must not give up: we must continue to explore with them, to believe in ourselves first. Everyone: institutions, schools, private individuals, citizens. No one excluded.”

Closed schools? We make pizza with the kids – Italian Cuisine

Children in the kitchen learn a lot of things while having fun at the same time. We take advantage of these closing days of schools and many parents at home to spend creative time with their children

It is not easy for our children to spend time forced to spend many hours at home because of the closed schools. A little bit of homework that teachers send through telematic channels, a little TV, a little park if it's sunny and it's not cold. But then? Wouldn't it also be nice to do something that involves children and adults together? For example prepare pizza, that the children will eat even more willingly.

So, hands in dough, yeast flour and water, an apron and a chef's hat and an adult to learn from and have fun with. It takes very little to offer a moment of play and learning to your children and if the opportunity is to put a tasty pizza in the oven to eat in company, everything becomes even more fun.

Why it is important to make pizza with children

Children in the kitchen learn a lot of things while having fun at the same time. For example, kneading or manipulating ingredients with your hands to create something is one of them more complete training activities for a child small that has the opportunity to develop his manual and sensory skills. But it is also important because it represents a task to be completed with the help of the parent, an opportunity for discussion and sharing, a moment of activity in the family. And we have a lot of time to spend with our children these days, given that young and old are at home because of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

To make this activity even more special, go ahead to the imagination in the preparation of pizzas: not only the classic ones, but also decorated and fun.

Here then 10 pizza recipes for children that we can safely do at home with the help of our children.

Classic pizzas

Crazy pizzas

Sweet pizzas

Have fun!

Schools closed for coronavirus. Fish-based ideas for kids – Italian Cuisine

With schools closed and children at home, lunch must also be invented and the menu needs to be changed. Here are some fun ideas for kids to eat fish

Complicated days, those that Italians are experiencing in some areas of the country, especially in the northern regions, where the many cases of Covid-19 coronavirus they force many social activities to close or downsize. Closed or smart working companies make adults stay at home for many more hours.
But for the children it is no better: closed schools and days at home to do the homework that teachers send to parents via WhatsApp groups.
Access to meeting places is also prohibited or severely limited. In short, everyone is staying at home. A situation that breaks the routine and that, wanting to see the glass half full, keeps families together for much longer than it usually happens. And so we all meet up for lunch together: and it's not the weekend!

The problem at this point is to invent different daily menus, since there are two family meals. And then there is the need to change the diet of the children, which the school canteen usually thinks about.

Here we take care of the little ones at home and how to make them eat fish, starting from a fact: everything that is burger and can be served inside a soft sandwich, children like it. Even the fish.
Here 5 recipes foolproof for the little ones.

Hulk Burger

The Hulk burger is obviously all green and contains spinach. We thought of calling him by the name of this superhero, but you can also opt for Shrek or Popeye, it depends a little on the children's favorite characters.
Making this burger is simple. Just stir 300 g of cod fillet with one egg, 100 g of spinach boiled and well squeezed, a boiled and mashed potato, salt and pepper.
Add little breadcrumbs in the mixture and then make burgers that will be brushed with milk and passed in breadcrumbs. You can cook them in a pan with a drizzle of oil or in the oven.

Pink burger

The girls will go crazy in front of a all pink burger. The basis is the salmon which already has a nice pink color, but to make it even stronger we suggest you use it in the dough red turnips steamed.
First whisk, after removing the bones, a salmon fillet and a red turnip.
Then add a large or two small eggs, a pinch of salt and pepper, chopped parsley and breadcrumbs just enough to achieve a perfect consistency.
Once the mixture is ready, leave it in the refrigerator for an hour and then make the burgers.
They are excellent cooked in a pan, but these too can go in the oven.

Burger by Nemo

This is not a real burger because in this case nothing is cooked.
Nemo burger is a Fake fish which is prepared with the tuna in oil and boiled potatoes and it is called this because it has the shape of a fish.
Jumbled up 200 g of tuna well drained with 6 potatoes boil and mash.
Add some chives and a handful of chopped capers with the knife, salt and pepper and grated lemon zest.
Leave the mixture in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then make small fishes that you can serve on the plate with a banner of Arab bread heated in the oven, or in a classic bun.

fish burger

Tuna burger

A cooked version of Nemo burger.
Tuna is an ingredient that children always like a lot, especially in combination with potatoes, so here is the solution.
For the fake cooked fish, add an egg and a little parmesan to the previous recipe and make externally breaded burgers to be cooked in the oven or in a pan.

Sole burger

If your kids love delicate tastes and then the sole, offer it in the form of a burger.
After cooking with a drizzle of oil in a pan, clean it well and blend it. For 300 g of sole clean add a large egg, parsley, salt, a little Parmesan and breadcrumbs as required.

Fish burger: the ideal accompaniments

Bread and scones

The real burger is made with the bun, a soft and round American bun covered with sesame seeds, but we can also opt for an Italianized version using some scones.
Also Sandwiches Milk they are fine, but be careful because they moisten easily so once stuffed they must be consumed immediately especially if there are sauces inside.
The excellent Arabic bread especially with the addition of fresh raw vegetables and yogurt sauce.

Homemade sauces

And speaking of sauces, how to pair these burgers?
Obviously with a good homemade mayonnaise you are never wrong and therefore we invite you to try our recipe mayonnaise.
Then you can't miss the Ketchup and this too can be easily prepared at home.
If you want something very delicate you can also opt for a simple one yogurt sauce with lemon juice and minced mint that goes very well especially with oily fish such as salmon.

How to stuff the sandwich

At this point, the burger is ready and the sauces are ready, all that remains is to stuff the sandwich or focaccia.
If children love vegetables use the classic lettuce leaf it's a tomato slice, otherwise only sauces.
Obviously, since it is a fish burger, the slices must be excluded!

And then there are these delicious fish cakes

In the tutorial some ideas for your burger-based family dinners

Recipes by Giorgia Di Sabatino.

Gordon Ramsay Recipes