ROAST FENNEL WITH PESTO

The idea of this recipe comes from the World Bank canteen. I was there earlier  this week  doing some work (at the Bank, not at the canteen) and also trying to gather support for our new international Inspiring Girls campaign (will tell you more about this at a later stage - so exciting!)

This really is a good combination and a great way to get children to eat fennel  - though mine complained that once you eat the pesto, what lies underneath is still fennel...

You need:
- fennel (one or two bulbs)
- olive oil (a tablespoon per bulb)
- salt
- pesto (see our recipe: http://www.mumandsons.com/2011/03/green-pesto.html)

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees. Cut the fennel in thick slices (at the Bank they did this in quarters, but increasing the surface of the fennel that gets charred makes it even nicer). Salt the slices and add the olive oil. Toss them with your hands so that all the slices get an oil and salt coating.  Roast for 35 minutes. Let the fennel cool down and pour some pesto on top. That is all there is to it.

TUNA SANDWICH

This is one of my favourite sandwiches from my 'most-est favourite' tapas bar in Spain: La Criolla (in Valladolid). They serve it with mini ciabatas as a tapa, but you can make it with normal size ones so that it becomes a lunch.

You need:
- a ciabatta roll (you can also do this with a baguette)
-1.5 piquillo peppers (open them up so that you cover the whole of the roll with the peppers)
- tuna (half a small tin) - the original recipe is with ventresca, i.e. the belly bit of the tuna which is very moist, but good quality tinned tuna works well.
- two green olives
- 2 prawns
- an anchovy fillet
- a teaspoon of mayonnaise
- a drizzle of olive oil
- tiny bit of salt

Open the ciabatta roll. Drizzle each side with a tiny bit of olive oil. Put (in this order) the piquillo peppers on top of the bread, then the flaked tuna, followed by the prawns (cut them in half horizontally so that you end up with 4 thin prawns) a bit of salt, the olives (cut in half) the anchovy fillet and finally the mayonnaise. Put the other half breadroll on top. Put it in a sandwich bag and into the toaster, or under the grill for a few minutes so that the bread gets warm. Eat immediately.

AJO BLANCO

This is a very easy cold soup from the South of Spain. Very garlicky, but very good.

You need:
- 200 gr almonds (raw and without skin. If you can only find almonds with skin then put them in a bowl with boiling water for 4-5- minutes and you will be able to peel them easily)
- half a glass of (good) olive oil
- 2 glasses of water
- a clove of garlic ( if you are brave try with 1.5 cloves, but children may find it too strong)
- a teaspoon of salt
- 1.5 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
If you like the soup thick and do not mind the carbohydrates add a slice of stale bread (without the crust). And if you like it thinner just add more water.

Blend all the ingredients together. Let the soup cool down in the fridge for an hour of so.

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