Food for Tots

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The developing brain needs energy so we brought a nourishing Italian menu to the toddlers at the UCSD preschool.

The UCSD Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) recently adopted a new menu that brings fresh ingredients to the table. I have taught cooking to children in the past and I thought it would be fun, beneficial, and educational to bring some Italian food to the campus preschool. I am a strong believer in flavor. Perhaps a way to contain the problem of child obesity and diabetes that has plagued the U.S. in recent years is to make sure that children’s food is healthy but also flavorful. If children don’t experience flavor in their daily dishes when they are little, they will turn to junk food as soon as they have the chance to do so. In my view, parents and institutions should focus as much on tasty as on healthy. It turns out that Mediterranean cuisine, Italian cuisine in particular, has managed to make healthy food taste good. In my experience, the food I ate at home when I was a child was unfailingly much better tasting than any food that I could buy elsewhere. My interest in cooking is nothing more than a continued effort to recreate the flavors and satisfaction that I experienced in my family’s kitchen back in Italy.

Kathryn Owen, the director of the ECEC, was delighted about the offer. So, after we obtained the parents’ permission I started making arrangements for the event with Mrs. Anna Bascom, enrollment coordinator at the preschool.

Cooking for 60 toddlers is no trivial matter. “This is a job for Roberto and Patrizia!” I thought. Roberto Bernardoni and his wife Patrizia are the owners and chefs at Operacaffe', a deliciously authentic Italian restaurant in San Diego's Gas Lamp district. Whenever I am faced with a culinary task on a large-scale or when it requires special expertise, I team up with my Florentine friends. We combine the scientist’s ‘experimental’ approach to catering and family-style cooking with the chefs' culinary training and restaurateur’s experience.

After a lengthy Italian-style deliberation we decided on the following menu:

Pasta al pomodoro (Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce)

This is a favorite of children of any ethnic background. Nourishing, yet very quick to digest this food is perfect for a school meal before the afternoon’s activities. In addition, this is a purely vegetarian dish. We knew that there was at least one vegetarian girl in school, so we wanted her to partake in the experience. We chose short fusilli pasta even though my personal choice is spaghetti (no.12).

Jacopo serving the first course, pasta al pomodoro, to two hungry girls.

Petti di pollo al limone con asparagi (Chicken breasts with Lemon Sauce and Asparagi)

In reality, we cooked chicken tenders because they are smaller, moister, and more appetizing than the whole breast. This dish is also very light and easily digestible. Children like the tanginess of the lemon sauce and the texture of the white meat. The asparagi were not universally liked and we had to go around the tables to provide a little incitement. I suppose some kids don't like them because they are fibrous; but mixed with the sauce they became more agreeable.

Italian chefs, Patrizia and Roberto, checking in on their little clients.

For dessert we made a pastry custard cream as a base and decorated tiny tartlets with raspberries or blueberries. it was very interesting to watch how different kids had different strategies to scoop the cream out of the shells of pastafrolla. 

Delicious tartlets filled with pastry custard cream and topped with fresh fruit.

Here are the recipes:

Spaghetti al pomodoro 

1 packet of spaghetti (makes 4 plates)

4 large, round tomatoes (or 5 vine ripe tomatoes)

2 cloves garlic

8 basil leaves

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

To begin take a medium sized deep pot and fill it ¾ full with water, add two large spoonfuls of salt, cover it, and put it on the stove on high heat.

Wash and cut the tomatoes into small pieces (the tomatoes should be ripe – Roma and Beef tomatoes work well; use heirloom type for an ‘exotic’ taste).  Chop the garlic and basil leaves.  Pour 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil into a medium-sized saucepan, add and the garlic and basil.  Put it on the stove on medium heat; when you hear the oil beginning to fry, then add the chopped tomatoes, stir, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cover with a lid...to rest (a riposare!)

At this point, check to see if the water is boiling, and if it is add the full package of spaghetti to the water (be careful not to break them though); using a two-prong fork or tongs make sure they don’t lump up by folding them to gently push them well under the level of the water.  After a few minutes, mix again – it will be easier this time. Then taste them, and if “al dente” remove from the heat and drain.

Place the empty pot on the stove again, lower the heat, add half of the sauce, the spaghetti, and stir assertively.  Add the other half of the sauce and stir again until the sauce is coating the pasta homogeneously.  Using the serving utensils prepare each separate dish which you may garnish with a couple of intact leaves of basil. Alternatively bring the pot or a serving dish to the table to enjoy “family style”. Either way, freshly grated parmesan (the one that needs to be refridgerated!) is a good complement.

Petti di pollo con limone e asparagi 

2 large chicken breasts or tenders (serves 4)

2 small asparagus bunches

2 lemons

4-5 tablespoons flour

4-5 tablespoons milk (or water)

1 small bunch parsley

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

To steam the asparagi, first fill 1/3 of the pot with water, place the strainer on top, add a spoonful of salt to the water, and put it on high heat.

Chop a small bunch of parsley.  Clean the asparagus by chopping off the toughest sections of the stalk (about 1 inch from the base), and place them on the strainer. Steam the vegetables for about 10-15 minutes (they should be firm, or even still a little crispy; definitely not soggy).    

In the meantime, take the 2 chicken breasts or tenders, clean them, and slice them in two.  Place 4-5 tablespoonfuls of flour in a plate and flour each piece of chicken. Then add 4-5 tablespoonfuls of extra-virgin olive oil in a pan and set on high heat.  Once the oil is hot, lay the floured chicken breasts in the pan and add salt and pepper to each side.  Each side should cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Once each side is golden-brown, remove the meat from the pan and put to rest on a plate.  Pour out the excess oil from the pan and add 2 tablespoonfuls of water or milk, 1 small piece of floured butter (roll the butter in the flour first), 2 slices of lemon, and put it on the live stove again.  When the mix has heated up, return the breasts to the pan and sauté the chicken on high for about 1 minute on each side.  Move them around so that they blend well with the lemon and the butter.

Remove the chicken from the pan when you see that the sauce has become thicker. Serve them on the plates, with a sprinkle the chopped parsley, garnished with fresh lemon slices, and position 4-5 asparagi on the side. 

Buon Appetito.

 That is what I call gratitude! 

Dr. Jacopo Annese 

P.S. Patrizia, Roberto and Jacopo would like to thank Miss Colleen Sheh, Laboratory Assistant at The Brain Observatory, for voluteering to help with serving and assisting our sixty hungry patrons! We also thank Anna Bascom for her untiring assistance throughout the day.