Little cooks

Get the kids involved with making these easy tomato-based dishes using ready-made SpinneysFOOD products

Alessandro Allegra

Prep these rollups a day in advance and bake when needed.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes: 6

200g lasagne sheets

100g courgettes

410g SpinneysFOOD Bolognese Sauce

410g SpinneysFOOD Cheese Alfredo Sauce

40g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano Grated

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Grease a large 6-hole muffin tin. 2 Soak the lasagne sheets in a single layer in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Drain. 3 Using a vegetable peeler, shave long thin pieces of courgette.

4 Working with one lasagne sheet at a time, slice each sheet in half lengthways. Take one half and attach it to the end of the other. You’ll be left with one long strip of pasta. Then lay the courgette sheets on top. Spread a spoonful of the Bolognese sauce and a spoonful of the alfredo sauce over the courgetti sheet. Roll up the lasagne sheet tightly. Place the roll in one cavity of the muffin tin. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients. 5 Sprinkle the cheese over. 6 Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4

500g baby tomatoes

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sprig of SpinneysFOOD Thyme

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

40g Cheddar

1 garlic clove

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

250g arborio rice

15g SpinneysFOOD Organic Italian Tomato Passata

750ml hot vegetable or chicken stock

25g SpinneysFOOD Unsalted Butter

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mascarpone

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

2 Halve the tomatoes and place them on a baking tray along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the sprig of thyme. Season with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until caramelised and soft. Set aside. 3 Meanwhile, finely grate the Cheddar. 4 Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan and sauté the garlic and oregano. Continue to sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then add the arborio rice. Toast for 2-3 minutes until starting to turn golden. Add the passata. Season well with a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Simmer for 4-5 minutes to reduce the liquid, stirring often. 5 Next add 100ml of the hot stock. Stir continuously and, once the stock has been absorbed, add some more. Repeat until the rice is cooked and looks rich and creamy (this should take approx. 20 minutes). Add a little more water, if needed, until the right consistency is reached. Remove from the heat. 6 Stir in most of the grated Cheddar and butter. Adjust the seasoning to taste. 7 Serve with the mascarpone swirled through and the roasted tomatoes on top.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes: 4

2 x SpinneysFOOD Medium Pita Breads

125ml SpinneysFOOD Classic Pizza Sauce

100g SpinneysFOOD Mozzarella Cheese

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

150g beef pepperoni

To serve

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Fresh Basil

1 Preheat oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. 2 Halve the pita breads to form 4 thin pita breads. Place on a baking sheet and spread with the pizza sauce. Grate the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle over the sauce. Top with the oregano and beef pepperoni. 3 Bake for 10 minutes until golden and bubbly. 4 Serve immediately.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

300g SpinneysFOOD Spaghetti

345g SpinneysFOOD Napoletana Sauce

1 sprig SpinneysFOOD Fresh Rosemary

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Peppercorns, freshly ground to taste 500g SpinneysFOOD Thin Beef Sausage

To serve

SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta (don’t rinse) and set aside. 2 Meanwhile, pour the sauce into a pot and heat gently with the rosemary. Adjust the seasoning with salt and meatballs

Make a large batch of mini meatballs and freeze them for quick and easy lunches and dinners.

pepper, if necessary. 3 Using kitchen scissors or a knife, slice the sausages down the middle. Scrape out the meat using a spoon. Roll the sausage meat into mini meatballs the size of olives. Drop the meatballs into the simmering sauce and allow to cook for 10 minutes.

4 Serve the meatballs with the spaghetti and a drizzle of olive oil.

Prep time: 30 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

For the veggie ketchup

100g pumpkin or butternut

100g carrots

1 onion or leek

100g SpinneysFOOD Diced Sweet Potato

2 garlic cloves

SpinneysFOOD Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt, to taste

SpinneysFOOD Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

4 tbsp red grape vinegar

½ tsp SpinneysFOOD Whole Black Peppercorns

2 allspice berries

1 clove

1 SpinneysFOOD Bay Leaf

1 x 400g tin SpinneysFOOD Organic Chopped

Italian Tomatoes

Handful of SpinneysFOOD Organic Baby Spinach

For the polenta fingers

600ml SpinneysFOOD Vegetable Stock

150g quick-cook polenta, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting

40g SpinneysFOOD Parmigiano Reggiano

2 tsp SpinneysFOOD Dried Oregano

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Fine Sea Salt

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Mediterranean Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Grease and line a 24cm x 20cm tin with baking paper. 2 Chop the pumpkin into small cubes. Roughly chop the carrots. Halve the onion. Place the diced sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, onion and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season well. Roast for 20 minutes or until soft and caramelised. 3 In a saucepan, heat the vinegar, peppercorns, allspice berries, clove and bay leaf. Gently simmer for 5 minutes then strain. 4 Place the vegetables in a blender with the tinned tomatoes, strained vinegar mixture and baby spinach. Blitz until smooth. Pour the ketchup into a saucepan and simmer gently until reduced and thickened. 5 Add the stock to a large pot and bring it to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta, stirring constantly. Add in more water, if necessary. The polenta should be creamy with a porridge-like consistency. Once thickened, finely grate in the cheese and stir in the oregano and salt. 6 Pour into the lined tin and place in the fridge to chill and firm up, approx. 1 hour. 7 Slice the chilled polenta into fingers and brush with the olive oil. Dust with the extra polenta. Arrange on a greased baking tray in a single layer and bake for 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden. 8 Serve with the ketchup.