Sardine Puttanesca Spaghetti
My kids have been in the kitchen with me since they were babies. At first, they would be in a high chair with a wooden spoon and a pot or tub, banging and stirring and gurgling as I cooked. They weren’t doing much, perhaps, but they were enjoying the kitchen, immersed in its smells and colours and flurry of busyness. They watched intently and learned from observing me. By the time they could walk they were pushing the button on the food processor, stirring dried goods under a watchful eye, playing with flour and water, learning to wash their hands before cooking, trying on aprons, and pouring liquids into batters.
As they got bigger they started progressing from playing chopping in their kitchen with wooden knives and food to cutting real soft fruits and vegetables on a chopping board with mummy using plastic or blunt kiddie knives. Slowly they moved on to butter knives. Suddenly they could safely turn on an oven and watch the numbers on the scales or use cup measurements to help weigh out ingredients.
My kids are now 2 and 3 and a half. And I’m blown away every day by how much they can do in the kitchen. My daughter, in particular, has a natural flair for cooking. She enjoys the process, has fun coming up with ideas and ways to add more vegetables and flavours to a meal. She can help me chop some ingredients, she can stir food in a hot pan with supervision, she can measure and pour and sift. She can safely use appliances like the food processor and coffee machine with a little help. She is much tidier now and I don’t spend so long cleaning up after we cook together. She can stir and whisk and fold. She’s had a hand in making many of the recipes on this website.
But this is her favourite. She loves it so much (to make and to eat), that I try to include it regularly in our meal plan so we can cook it together. She has made it so many times now that she remembers what to put in when, and can do lots of it herself. I open a couple of tins and chop some garlic (which she peels) for her, and I supervise the hot pan and make sure she doesn’t touch the sharp edges of the can. But it is a very simple meal. And so she can do most of it herself.
She knows that we need to cook the garlic and chilli flakes for a moment before adding the tomatoes. She knows to keep stirring to make sure it doesn’t stick. She always reminds me to put salt in the water for the pasta.
This is her dish. We’ve changed and adapted it together over time. Sometimes we still do. She likes to chuck in a handful of sweetcorn sometimes, or a few sliced defrosted peppers. She eats more of the olives than end up in the meal. But she loves it.
She loves cooking a genuinely healthy, balanced meal. And I honestly don’t know if she would love it so much if she hadn’t been so involved in making it.
If you’ve been reading Raising Sugar Free Kids for any length of time, you’ve probably heard me bang on about getting kids in the kitchen. But honestly, there is good reason for this, and research studies back me up on it time and time again. Getting kids involved in preparing healthy food (rather than only ever getting them in the kitchen to make cakes) is one of the very best things you can do to encourage a love of healthy eating.
This dish is very very kid-friendly. If your children are very young or just starting out, maybe just let them watch for the most part. Move the pan off the heat and watch them carefully while you get them to pour the chopped tomatoes in. Let them throw in a few ingredients (and don’t worry if a few end up on the floor). Ask whether there are any other vegetables they want to add in, and go with it. Let them munch on the olives and try a caper. Let them play with the sardines.
For older kids or those more comfortable in the kitchen, get them involved in every step. Let them peel the garlic and measure out 1/4 tsp of chilli flakes. Let them stir the ingredients in the hot pan, keeping a close eye on them to ensure they are safe. Let them break up the sardines and stir them through. Let them pour cold water into the pan from the tap and show them how to safely turn on the stove. Let them watch as the water boils and give them the salt so they can add some into it. Let them put the spaghetti in and show them how to gently push it under the water safely with a spoon or fork. Let them taste. Let them adjust. Let them create.
I’m a big advocate of the fact that kids can learn pretty much everything through cooking. Maths to work out how to double or halve a recipe and how to measure ingredients. English, reading and language from reading through the recipe. Creativity from adjusting and adapting the recipe to what you have on hand. Self-reliance and cooking skills they will need later in life to eat healthy once they leave home. Teamwork and family bonding through cooking with mum (or dad, or siblings). Independence and responsibility as they get older and more capable and can start to cook dishes all the way through by themselves. Science from figuring out the “whys” of cooking – why does garlic brown in the oil, why do the tomatoes thicken, why are the sardine bones edible, why do the flavours go together? Nutrition from cooking healthy food and asking what is so good about the ingredients. Exercise from being on their feet and moving about rather than sitting on the sofa waiting for dinner to be ready. Consequences when they touch something hot or make a mess they then need to clean up. And so much more.
So why not get your kids in the kitchen today and make something that is delicious, healthy, simple, made entirely from store cupboard and freezer ingredients, dirt cheap and insanely quick?
I wish I could claim this family favourite recipe as my own. But credit has to go to my 3 and a half year old daughter, who adapted and assisted to create our go-to family fish dish. 🙂
Our family's favourite fish dish. Quick, delicious, cheap and simple enough for kids to make with you.
- 300-400 g wholewheat or spelt spaghetti (use courgetti/zoodles for low carb or gluten free spaghetti if needed)
- 1 tbsp olive or coconut oil or butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes, optional
- 400 g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin sardines in olive oil
- 2 tbsp pitted black olives, sliced
- 1 tbsp capers
- 4 servings frozen chopped spinach (or choose quick cooking frozen veggies you want to add)
- handful of fresh parsley or chives, roughly chopped
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Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a generous pinch of salt. When the water is boiling, add the spaghetti and simmer for 8-10 mins until al dente while you make the sauce.
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For the sauce: heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic and chilli flakes. Cook for 30 secs-1 min then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for a couple of mins, then add the sardines, olives, capers and spinach. Cook for another 4-5 mins, until sauce is cooked, sardines are broken up in the sauce and everything is heated through. Drain the spaghetti and stir the sauce through it, then serve with the fresh herbs. The Italians will probably get very upset with me for this, as it is totally not traditional, but we quite like adding a little grated Parmesan sometimes, too. 😉
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