Simple River Cafe recipes that are perfect for children and beginners (2024)

Chances are you already have a River Cafe cookbook somewhere in your home – full of beautiful, authentic recipes that celebrate quality ingredients. Here, though, that refined approach to the culinary traditions of Italy is made accessible for a younger cook – or a beginner of any age – with clear methods and a shorter shopping list.

These eight dishes are sure to spark a love of Italian food, River Cafe-style – no taxi to the Hammersmith restaurant required.

Gnocchi with tomato sauce

Gnocchi should be made as light as possible. A potato ricer gets great results. If you’re using tomatoes with a lot of juice, put them in a colander to drain them.

Timings

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 45-50 minutes

Serves

Six

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 red onions, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2 x 400g cans peeled plum tomatoes
• 1kg white floury potatoes, washed
• 130g 00 flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 10 basil leaves

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry for 10 minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes and stir to break them up. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over the lowest heat while you make the gnocchi.
2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the potatoes. Cook for 20-25 minutes until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them with a blunt knife. Immediately put the potatoes through a mouli grater or potato ricer on to a clean work counter.
3. Sift the flour over the warm potatoes and make a well in the centre. Add the beaten egg. Using your hands, quickly mix to form a smooth, soft dough. Do not overwork the dough or you will make the gnocchi too chewy.
4. Divide the dough into four. Using your hands, roll the dough into four sausages of 1.5cm diameter. Cut these into 2.5cm long pieces with a knife.
5. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi for three minutes until they rise to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon.
6. Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and stir in the basil. Put the gnocchi into the pan, mix well and serve.

Spatchco*ck chicken in milk

A spatchco*ck chicken is chicken with the backbone removed, which allows for quicker and even cooking. It can be a bit tricky to do, so we recommend asking the butcher to do it for you.

Timings

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves

Six

Ingredients

• 1.5kg organic chicken, spatchco*cked
• 80g butter
• 500ml milk
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10 sage leaves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a heavy ovenproof frying pan, large enough to hold the chicken, over a medium-high heat.
2. Add the chicken, skin side down, to the pan and cook for seven minutes until the skin is golden. Cover with the milk and squeeze over the lemon. Add the garlic and sage to the pan, then cook for one minute. Carefully flip the chicken over with tongs.
3. Put the pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. To test for doneness, pierce the thickest part of the thigh; the juices should run clear. The milk will reduce to make a thick, curdled sauce. Carefully remove the chicken from the oven, slice and serve.

Tuscan roasted potatoes

Try to use a waxy potato rather than a floury one for this recipe.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves

Eight

Ingredients

• 10 garlic cloves
• 1.5kg potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• 200ml extra-virgin olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan160C fan/gas mark 4.
2. Carefully squash the garlic cloves with the flat of a knife.
3. Put the potatoes, garlic and rosemary into a ceramic roasting tray large enough to hold them in one layer.
4. Add a large pinch of salt and pepper, then pour the olive oil over and mix with your hands.
5. Roast in the oven for 1 hour, stirring or shaking the tray from time to time, until golden brown.
6. Carefully remove the potatoes from the oven.

Crostata

You can use any jam you like (even ready-made) with this tart, but if making it yourself, it can get extremely hot, so take care.

Timings

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus chilling
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes, plus cooling

Serves

Six

Ingredients

For the raspberry jam

• 450g raspberries
• 225g caster sugar
• juice of 1 large lemon

For the pastry

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 3½ tbsp caster sugar
• 2½ tbsp polenta
• 1 tsp salt
• 170g butter, cold and diced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. To make the raspberry jam, combine all the ingredients in a large frying pan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Stir frequently to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat and boil for five minutes. Carefully pour the mixture into a bowl and cool completely.
2. To make the pastry, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, caster sugar, polenta, salt and butter. Beat on a low speed until butter is reduced to pea-sized chunks. Add four tablespoons of iced water and mix until combined. Cover the dough with the cling film and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
3. Divide the dough in half. Using a rolling pin, roll a piece of dough on a lightly floured work counter, to slightly larger than your tart pan and to a thickness of 3mm. Carefully lay the dough over the tart pan. Set aside. Roll the other piece of dough into a rectangle the width of the tart. Using a pasta cutter, cut eight strips of dough, about 2.5cm wide. Create a four x four lattice with the strips on a piece of baking paper.
4. Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3. Fill the pastry with raspberry jam. Carefully slide the lattice on top. Using
   a blunt knife, trim the edges. Brush with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for one hour until cooked through. Carefully remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Raspberry sorbet

The riper the raspberries, the better the sorbet.

Timings

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus two hours freezing

Serves

Six

Ingredients

• 1 thick-skinned lemon
• 400g caster sugar
• 800g raspberries

Method

1. Cut the lemon into 1cm cubes, removing any pips. Put the lemon into a food processor with 350g of the caster sugar. Blend until puréed with visible bits of lemon skin.
2. Add the raspberries, then blend again until well mixed. Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container and freeze for about two hours, stirring with a spoon to break up the crystals every 30 minutes, until solid.

Casarecce with pesto

Making pesto in a food processor makes it pale, smooth and creamy. In Liguria fine green beans and potato pieces are often added to the pasta.

Timings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves

Six

Ingredients

• 200g basil leaves
• 200g freshly grated Parmesan
• ½ garlic clove
• 75g pine nuts
• 200ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 450g casarecce pasta

Method

1. Put the basil leaves, Parmesan, garlic and pine nuts into a food processor fitted with a sharp blade.
2. Add the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
3. Blitz together to make a smooth paste.
4. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
5. Add the casarecce to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions, until firm al dente.
6. Drain, then return to the pan. Add the pesto and mix well.

Pressed chocolate cake

It sounds eccentric, but pressing the cake down is what makes this cake special. It’s delicious with vanilla ice cream.

Timings

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 25 - 30 minutes plus cooling

Serves

Six

Ingredients

• 300g butter, plus extra for greasing
• plainflour, for dusting
• 400g chocolate
• 80g cocoa powder, sifted
• 10 eggs, separated
• 225g caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.
2. Butter and flour a 30cm round cake tin, about 7.5cm deep.
3. Bring a saucepan filled halfway with water to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
4. Set a heatproof bowl over the saucepan; the water should not touch the bowl. Add the butter, chocolate and cocoa to the bowl and mix until melted. Carefully place the bowl on the work counter and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
5. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar until pale and thick. Stir this gently into the cooled chocolate mixture with a metal spoon.
6. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the other half of the sugar until they form soft peaks. One-third at a time, fold the egg whites gently into the chocolate mixture with the spoon. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
7. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes until the cake has risen.
8. Carefully remove from the oven. Immediately top with a square of baking paper and a plate that fits 1cm inside the rim. Press down firmly, then put a weight on top to squash the cake a little. Allow the cake to cool fully before turning it out.

Pistachio cake

Use high-quality shelled pistachios and your cake will come out a beautiful green colour.

Timings

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour plus cooling

Serves

Six

Ingredients

• 120g pistachios
• 5 tbsp blanched almonds
• 250g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 250g caster sugar
• grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthways
• 4 eggs
• 100g plain flour
• 1⁄2 tsp baking powder

For the topping

• 50g caster sugar
• grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 60g pistachios, finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas mark 2.
2. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
3. In a food processor, finely grind the pistachios and almonds.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, sugar and lemon juice and zest. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla pod into a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well between each addition.
6. Add the ground nuts, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Using a wooden spoon, mix until well combined.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Carefully put tin in the oven.
8. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Carefully remove the cake from the oven.
9. Meanwhile, combine sugar and lemon juice and zest in a small saucepan. Stir gently over a low heat until sugar dissolves to create a syrup.
10. Sprinkle the pistachios in a long row over the cake. Pour the warm lemon syrup on top. Set aside to cool. Remove from the tin and serve.

Recipes from The River Cafe Look Book: Recipes for Kids of all Ages (Phaidon, £24.95) is out on 17 October

Related Topics

• Italian food,
• Italian recipes