Anthony Cotton
Anthony is founder of London-based restaurant, Slaw, which is focused on bringing plant based root to stem cooking to London through grab-and-go lunches.
Anthony’s Vibrant Slaw of Fennel, Carrot & Cabbage with Passion Fruit Dressing
Anthony Cotton
Effort:
Complexity:
Cost:
Serves: 12
Prep time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
1 small red cabbage
4 medium carrots
2 bulbs of fennel
2 passion fruit
1 lime
1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons of mint
Veg Portions / Serving: 1
Recipe donated by Anthony Cotton for Veg Power. Recipe & photography by Anthony Cotton.
I always try to chuck away as little food as possible and slaw is a great way of using up leftover vegetables. In this slaw of fennel, carrot & cabbage I list these vegetables, but you can throw in any number of other vegetables and it would still taste great. This dish is inspired by my time in San Francisco working at a market teaching kids to cook. The produce out there was incredible, so you always try and keep it simple and let the produce shine through.
Method:
First, prep the veg and put them in a big bowl: you want to cut the red cabbage into long thin strips and do the same with the fennel (keep the sprigs of fennel leaf to the side to garnish). With both it can be easiest to cut them into quarters and then slice. With the carrots you can either prep them with a knife into long thin strips or simply grate them.
Moving onto the dressing: simply combine the juice of a lime, the contents of two passion fruit, the honey/agave, and a pinch of salt, and whisk together with a fork.
Before serving, thoroughly mix together the veg with the dressing in a big bowl, then add the chopped mint and give it a final mix. Place the sprigs of fennel on top to garnish the dish.
If you want to add a little kick you can chuck some thinly sliced chilies through it or add a little ginger juice to the dressing.
Engaging Kids
Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.
Kids in the kitchen
Let the kids make this dressing – they’re going to love juicing the lime, scraping the passion fruit pulp out from its skin and measuring the honey. They can also grate the carrots and pick the mint before getting their hands involved mixing the slaw together.
Activities
While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.
Sensory
Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.
Serving
The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.
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