Monday, November 15, 2010

Eat your lima beans please

There's this constant fight between kids and vegetables. There aren't many kids who are extremely fond of veggies. They'd rather not see them on their plates. Some vegetables are more in favor than other. Most children like cherry tomatoes, carrots, peas. But few voluntarily eat Brussels sprouts or Belgian endive, do they?

I don't know what the thing with lima beans is, but going back in time, I remember American parents telling their kids to eat their lima beans. I have never even seen lima beans, have you? I suppose they are very good for you and they taste like crap?

There are several ways to have your kids eat their greens. They may not like the way you prepare them or the way they look in the store. Maybe you should try a different cooking method. Or serve the vegetables as crudités. Have you ever tried to thinly slice raw Brussels sprouts? How about raw mushrooms? Or egg plant caviar? There are so many good recipes out there, that I'm convinced not one child can say: I don't like vegetables..

Today I have a vegetable terrine for you. It's packed with veggies that are good for you and it looks so festive that maybe, just maybe, your child might even dig in and enjoy it.

what do we need:

  • 300 grams of fresh green beans, finely chopped (pea size)
  • 3 carrots, peeled and cut in fine julienne
  • 1 grilled red pepper, cut in stripes
  • 125 grams of cubed ham
  • 1/4 of a Jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut finely
  • 4 eggs
  • 230 ml of (soy)cream
  • salt and pepper
  • fresh parsley or chives, snipped finely

what do we do:

  • Cook the beans and the carrots separately. Drain and dry them.
  • Preheat the oven to 190°C.
  • Dress a rectangular cake tin with cling film and let it hang over the edges.
  • Drape half of the carrot julienne in the tin. Put a layer of beans on top. Add a layer of red pepper and a layer of ham. Start over again.
  • Finish it off with the jalapeno.
  • Beat the eggs with the cream. Season with salt and pepper and the finely chopped herbs.
  • Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and let them sink in.
  • Fold the cling film over the vegetables.
  • Put the tin in a large oven dish. Fill the dish up with hot water up to half of the tin.
  • Bake the terrine for 1 hour.
  • Let it cool on a wire rack for 10 min.
  • Unmould the terrine and let it sit in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
  • Cut slices of the terrine and serve with a fresh herb sauce, full of gherkins, spring onion, capers, dill and parsley.


vegetable terrine
Photo by Lana Joos

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