Tana Ramsay - Tana Ramsay’s Family Kitchen - Simple and Delicious Recipes for Every Family

75g/3oz plain flour

25g/1oz wholemeal flour

250ml/9fl oz semi-skimmed milk

2 eggs

3 Bramley apples

50g/2oz butter

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

Serves:4 children (makes about 8 pancakes)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time:10 minutes

1Start by putting the flours, milk and eggs in the liquidizer and blitzing for about 2 minutes.

2Peel and core the apples and slice quite thinly. Heat half the butter in a frying pan and add the cinnamon. Let it bubble for a minute before adding the sliced apples. Sprinkle over the sugar and very carefully turn the apples over so that they are coated in the buttery syrup. Turn the heat down and allow to cook gently. Keep an eye on them while you are cooking the pancakes and turn them over from time-to-time to allow them to cook evenly.

3While the apples are happily cooking away, melt the rest of the butter in another frying pan and start frying the pancakes. The first pancake always seems to be a disaster, so I usually eat it myself. Pile the pancakes on a plate beside you until you have made them all.

4Divide the apple mixture between the pancakes and roll up. Drizzle a little maple syrup over each one to guarantee a good day ahead!

Tip

• It’s a good idea to make the batter the night before and leave in the fridge until the morning. As well as saving time, it improves the batter by allowing it to rest.

I love sending the children off to school with a tummy full of porridge – you know they will have enough in there to last until lunchtime with great energy! If I am going running I know it helps my energy levels.

100g/4oz porridge oats

1 300ml/10½fl oz water

600ml/1 pint whole milk

150g/6oz blueberries

soft brown sugar or maple syrup

Serves:4 children

Prep time:5 minutes

Cooking time:10 minutes

1If I am making this for breakfast the next day, I always try to remember to put the oats and water in a saucepan the night before and leave it with the lid on overnight. It just reduces the cooking time, which is always a good thing when I’m trying to get everyone to school on time.

2Pour the milk onto the oats and water and gently bring to the boil, stirring all the time.

3Turn the heat down and simmer for about 7 minutes, until the porridge is thick and creamy.

4Divide between four bowls, sprinkle with blueberries and a little maple syrup or sugar.

Although this might seem a slightly odd choice for breakfast, it is very quick to make, especially if you make the batter the night before and leave it in the fridge. You can then simply pour the batter into the dish, pop in the fruit and put it in the oven to cook while you dress the children and yourself!

The aim of this dish is that the fruit should be surrounded by a soft, only just set, cake. It’s almost like having Yorkshire pudding with jam on top! You need to serve it straight from the oven, otherwise it will continue to cook and become hard and stodgy.

butter to grease the dish

6 plums/apricots/nectarines

425ml/15fl oz milk

3 eggs

75g/3oz plain flour

50g/2oz caster sugar

50g/2oz ground almonds

1 tsp good-quality vanilla extract

seeds from vanilla pod (optional)

Serves:6

Prep time:10 minutes

Cooking time:20–25 minutes

1Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/GM6

2Grease the dish and put to one side.

3Slice the soft fruit in half and remove the stones.

4Put the milk, eggs, flour, sugar, almonds and vanilla into the liquidizer and blitz for about 2 minutes.

5Pour the liquid into the prepared dish and then gently arrange the fruit, cut-side down, so that all you see is the softly rounded fruit peeking out from the batter.

6Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes.

7Serve immediately.

My children think this is the ultimate treat for breakfast – again, it’s more of a weekend breakfast, as it takes too much thinking about for a weekday morning …

4 large organic free range eggs

4 slices wholemeal bread

100g/4oz mature cheddar cheese, grated

Serves:4

Prep time:5 minutes

Cooking time:7 minutes

1Preheat the grill on high.

2Bring to the boil a large deep saucepan of water and carefully add the eggs. Remember to set the timer for 5 minutes – I easily get distracted so always work by my timer! Toast the wholemeal bread and cover with the cheddar. Place under the grill until the cheese is bubbling.

3Remove the eggs from the pan, place in a sieve and run under the cold tap to stop overcooking – eggs that are too hard-boiled are not the same!

4Crack the top of the egg and remove the shell on the top third. Place into an egg cup and slice off the white to reveal a lovely runny yolk.

5Cut the cheesy toast into soldiers and dip into the yolk! Serve.

Tip

• If you keep your eggs in the fridge, allow them to reach room temperature before boiling – this helps prevent them cracking as they boil.

It’s only when you taste boiled eggs that you remember how good they are.

This may sound like a very grown-up breakfast for children, but I find if I am eating it my children are always hanging around for a taste.

1 loaf ciabatta

4 tbsp olive oil

400g/14oz portabellini or other large mushrooms

20g¾oz bunch of basil

25g/1oz parmesan, finely grated

Serves:4

Prep time:10 minutes

Cooking time:10 minutes

1Cut the ciabatta in half vertically and again horizontally. Drizzle with a bit of the olive oil and place on a baking sheet.

2Cut mushrooms into thick slices.

3Heat the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan until shimmering, then throw in the mushrooms.

4Cook on a fairly high heat, stirring regularly until the mushrooms start to release their natural liquid.

5Turn off the heat, add a few torn basil leaves and put the lid on. Leave to infuse while you grill the ciabatta on a fairly high heat for about 5 minutes until it is just browning and going crunchy.