Menu Inspirations

from EDUcatering R&C Supplement | July 2022

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WINTER WARMERS

We’re in the midst of winter now and providing kids a hearty meal at school is more important than ever. Winter is a great time to experiment with new flavours from different world cuisines, such as adding mild spices to a winter soup.

There is also an amazing array of vegetables available over winter, perfect for roast vegetable salads or adding to multi-grain pasta dishes.

INSPIRATION FOR WINTER WEEKLY SPECIALS: Mild Lamb Curry with Rice

This is a great curry recipe to introduce children to some new flavours, with a combination of garlic, ginger, turmeric, and mild curry paste combined with diced lean lamb and potatoes (or other winter vegetables).

Ingredients (For aprox. 25 servings): • 2.5kg lean lamb, diced • 1.25kg large potato, peeled and diced • 75ml vegetable oil • 625g onion, finely diced • 35g garlic, crushed • 35g ginger, crushed • 150g mild curry paste • 2tsp turmeric powder • 1kg canned chopped tomatoes • 1.25l vegetable stock, reduced salt • 750g unsweetened reduced-fat yoghurt

Method:

Heat oil in a large pot. Gently sauté the onion until soft. Add garlic, ginger, curry paste, turmeric and diced lamb and cook until lamb is about half cooked through.

Add potatoes, tomatoes, stock, and half of the yoghurt. Cook for approximately 2-3 hours over a low heat, covered, until the meat is tender, and the sauce has thickened.

Before serving, mix through remaining yoghurt.

Courgette Pizza

Want to try something a little different - how about this courgette-base pizza? It’s an easy way to get more vegetables into a student’s diet.

Ingredients (for one larger pizza, but these could be made into individual mini pizzas): • 1 egg • 1 courgette, grated • 1/3 cup self-raising flour • 1/2 clove garlic, crushed • 1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs • 2 tbsp grated cheese

Toppings:

• 2 tbsp pizza sauce • 2 tbsp grated cheese

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place baking paper on a baking tray. Place courgette in a clean tea towel or over a sieve and squeeze out as much moisture as possible into a bowl.

Into another bowl, combine courgette, flour, garlic, herbs, egg, and cheese. Mix the dough with clean hands and press into a circle 1cm thick onto baking paper on the baking tray. Depending on how much liquid is squeezed out of the grated courgette will determine how wet the mixture will be. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown and the bottom is starting to brown. Carefully remove from the oven, flip over and top with pizza sauce and cheese. Bake for another 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then slice into 8 pieces and serve.

Recipes courtesy of The Heart Foundation, for these and more visit www.heartfoundation. org.nz H

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