Back To School Recipes from the Adelaide Central Market

It’s always hard to come up with nutritious lunchbox ideas that your kids will actually eat, isn’t it? Thankfully our friends at the Adelaide Central Market have put together some great (and simple!) lunchbox recipes that are guaranteed to be a winner with even the fussiest of kids. Make sure you pop into the Adelaide Central Market to grab your the freshest, local ingredients and get the kids involved in cooking some of the recipes below to take to school!

FRUIT PIKELETS 3 WAYS

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Serves: 18

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain self-raising flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup honey
¾ cup (180ml) full cream milk
25g unsalted butter, melted
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

Banana & coconut
2 bananas, ½ cup mashed banana & remaining sliced
¼ cup shredded coconut

Apple & cinnamon
2 apples, ½ cup grated apple & remaining sliced
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Strawberry & vanilla
10 strawberries, ½ cup diced strawberries & remaining sliced
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

METHOD

For the pikelet batter, add flour and baking powder together in a medium mixing bowl, stirring to combine.

In a large jug add honey, milk, melted butter and egg, whisking to combine. Pour over the flour mixture, stirring to combine. Add fruit combination of choice, stirring to combine.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add a little extra butter to the pan until melted. Using a tablespoon as a measure, drop spoonfuls of batter into the pan, placing a slice of fruit on top and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface. Using a spatula, carefully turn pikelets and cook for a further 2 minutes or until golden.

Serve pikelets hot or cold with butter and honey.

COLD ROLLS WITH DIPPING SAUCE

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

8 x 22cm round rice paper wrappers
150g vermicelli noodles
¼ iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 large carrot, grated
1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into sticks
½ avocado, deseeded and thinly sliced
8 coriander sprigs
200g cooked shredded chicken or cooked peeled prawns

To serve:

Sweet chilli or hoisin sauce, for dipping

METHOD

Cook vermicelli noodles following packet instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Place drained noodles in a bowl and snip with kitchen scissors.

To make rice paper rolls, place all filling ingredients together on a large plate and fill a large shallow bowl with hot water.

Place rice paper wrappers one at a time into the hot water for about 10-15 seconds until just soft, as they become difficult to work with, the softer they become. Place wrapper onto a clean sheet of baking paper and assemble cold roll ingredients across the centre (like a sausage), allowing about 4cm of wrapper at either end. It is important not to add too much filling, as it will be difficult to roll and the wrapper may tear.

To roll the wrapper, start with the edge closest to you and encase the filling. Fold the outside edges in over the filling, to hold the ingredients in at each end. Roll filling over remaining wrapper and place cold roll on a platter to serve. Repeat process with remaining ingredients.

Serve cold rolls with dipping sauce of choice.

APPLE & BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE MUFFINS

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 12

INGREDIENTS

2 Granny Smith apples
1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
1 cup plain self-raising flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup (125ml) olive oil
½ cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup milk
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup fresh blueberries

Crumble topping:
½ cup plain flour
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
60g unsalted butter, softened and diced
¼ cup rolled oats

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced) and line a 12-hole standard muffin pan with paper cases.

To prepare apples, grate ½ cup of apple and finely dice ½ cup apple, both with skin on.

For the crumble, mix flour, sugar and cinnamon together. Add butter and rub together until mixture is well combined and starts clumping. Add oats and mix until well combined. Set aside until required.

For the muffins, add flours, cinnamon and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl, stirring to combine.

In a large jug add oil, yogurt, milk, eggs and vanilla, whisking to combine. Pour over the flour mixture, adding prepared apple and blueberries, stirring mixture until just combined.

Evenly divide mixture between paper cases and sprinkle over crumble mixture. Place muffin pan in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

GUACAMOLE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

2 large avocados, halved and deseeded
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
¼ cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
100g corn chips
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into batons
1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into batons

METHOD

Spoon avocado into a small mixing bowl and mash with a fork.

Add spring onions, tomatoes, coriander, lime juice, salt and pepper, stirring to combine.

Serve guacamole with corn chips, carrot and cucumber batons.