Learning to cook: kebabs

I'm well aware that most of the time British summer weather can be a little cold, overcast or raining, well it often is in Manchester. However, I am going to soldier on regardless even if the sun is not going to join in and with summer comes summer food. One of the quickest and most delicious meals to make is kebabs.

My children love helping to make kebabs, especially on the odd day when the sun does shine and we actually get to cook them outdoors on the barbecue. These kebab recipes are also a fun way of encouraging your children to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Chicken Satay Kebabs – serves 4

• 800g boneless, skinless chicken thighs – cut into bite sized chunks
• 165ml tin of coconut milk
• 4 tbs (heaped) smooth peanut butter
• 2 tbs sweet chilli dipping sauce (if your children don't like spicy food use less or leave it out altogether)
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs sesame oil

To make the marinade tip the coconut milk, peanut butter, sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil into a small bowl and mix together really well. My daughter really likes to make this and wears her witches hat so that she can pretend she's mixing potions!

Once the marinade is ready tip it over the cubes of chicken and give it a good mix together using hands and make sure all the chicken is well coated. Then thread the cubes of chicken onto the kebab sticks. Once the kebabs have been prepared make sure your children give their hands a good wash so they don't spread any bacteria. It's also a good idea to give the work-surfaces a wipe down with anti-bacterial spray. 

The kebabs need to be grilled under a medium grill for approximately 20 minutes until cooked thoroughly making sure no pink chicken remains.

These kebabs are nice served with some rice and a big green salad or the vegetable kebabs below.

Vegetable kebabs – serves 4

• 2 red peppers
• 2 green peppers
• 2 red onions (peeled)
• 2 courgettes
• 500g mushrooms

Wash and chop all the vegetables into small bite sized chunks and thread onto the kebab sticks. You could have these plain or make up some more satay marinade. My children like the vegetable kebabs best if they are brushed with a simple mixture of a couple of tablespoons of runny honey and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. The vegetable kebabs take approximately 10 minutes to cook under a medium grill.

As for the pudding...

Fruit kebabs – serves 4

• 3 bananas
• 4 peaches (stone removed and chopped)
• 1 punnet of strawberries
• 1 pineapple
• 4 tbs brown sugar

Wash the fruit and peel the bananas and pineapple. Chop all the fruit into bite sized chunks and thread onto the kebab sticks. Then drizzle them with just a little olive oil and sprinkle them with brown sugar. Fruit kebabs take 5-10 minutes to cook under a medium grill. These are absolutely delicious the sugar caramelises beautifully and they are just gorgeous served with vanilla ice cream.

For more ideas for easy cooking with children check out Deb Carrots fruit crumble recipe or Rosie Scribble's pasta and pesto.