A "Friday dinner" is a great opportunity for the family to strengthen the confidence, trust and sense of belonging of each member of the family.
The interpersonal connection that takes place at the table, combined with the flavors, stories and experiences that are created around it, activates all our senses - and these make the experience powerful and meaningful.
A family meal around the table provides a sense of togetherness and gives us the meaningful social fuel for us, so one of my warm recommendations for parents is to create opportunities for shared meals for all members of the household.
If there is no opportunity for this during the week, lucky to have the weekend where the family Shabbat meal tradition can be observed.
In preparation for Family Day, which will be celebrated this coming Tuesday, I spoke with my friend Keren Or Oren, an expert in parenting and education staff and owner of the Keren Or Lehorot, about the right way to involve the children in preparing Shabbat meals, and meals in general.
As with everything, says Keren Or, here too intention, desire, and if we are honest - quite a bit of work are required.
However, the gains we will receive as a family that make the shared meal a habit are tremendous gains, which remain for years and become part of our culture and family atmosphere.
According to Keren Or, it is possible to perfect and add additional motifs, which will add to the atmosphere and upgrade family time.
When I ask what, for example, she answers: to make a division of roles, in which everyone contributes and does their part, whether it is in setting the table and arranging the seats, and whether it is of course in cooking tasks such as cutting, peeling, drinking and more.
The tasks should be tailored to the age and ability of each child, but everyone can help from a very young age, which adds to the sense of contribution and meaning.
Another important thing is that each and every one will have at least one favorite dish on the table, which will give an answer and personal reference.
It contributes to the feeling of being seen, respected and loved.
Everyone contributes and does their part.
Keren Or Oren and her children in the kitchen, Photo: Assaf Carla
During the meal we must ensure full listening, without distractions.
There is no access to screens and mobile phones, at least for a certain time at the meal, and that includes us, the parents.
While eating it is important to look into the eyes, take an interest and talk, and you can also play games that encourage sharing, such as telling a good experience and a bad experience of the week, for example in a "truth and false" game, where true and false sentences are told .
It is of course important to say a good word to each member of the family about something we want to strengthen for the coming week or for life in general, and another positive game is the "cheers" game, where everyone says in honor of what they would like to pick up "for life" this week.
Of course you do not have to do everything, choose what suits you, but just before we dive into the kitchen and recipes that are fun to prepare with the kids, here is one last question to think about: What would you like your kids to remember and take from home in adulthood?
Hint to the answer: This is what you should bring to the table.
Shepherd pie
A winning combination of potatoes and meat.
Shepherds pie, Photo: Assaf Carla
Ingredients for puree:
1 kg of potatoes
2 egg yolks
A little olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt
pepper
Meat:
600 grams of minced meat
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
A little nutmeg
2 tablespoons beef stock (if not, you can use Worcestershire sauce)
2 tablespoons tomato concentrate
3/4 glass of red wine
3/4 cup chicken stock (if no water then)
A handful of chopped parsley
Salt
pepper
Begin by preparing the puree.
Peel the potatoes and cook them in water and salt, until softened.
Turn off the heat, add the egg yolks, olive oil and garlic and mash everything together.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now, for making the meat.
Heat olive oil in a large pan, and when the oil is hot, fry the onion and garlic cloves until golden.
Add the meat and continue to fry until it changes color and becomes crumbly.
Add the beef stock, tomato concentrate, wine and spices and cook over high heat, until the wine taste is absorbed into the meat.
Add the chicken stock, continue to cook for another 10 minutes and mix all the dough well.
Add chopped parsley, improve and correct the taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
To assemble the dish, grease a pyrex pan with a little oil, place a layer of the puree evenly, top the meat and top with another layer of the puree.
Spread a little olive oil on top of the mashed potatoes (you can go over the mashed potatoes with a fork to create a nice decoration), place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes, until the mashed potatoes are golden.
Filled pepper
Full of all good.
Stuffed peppers, Photo: Assaf Carla
Materials:
12 colored peppers
700 grams of minced meat
1 cup rice
8 cloves of garlic
2 onions
1 bunch of parsley
Olive oil
Salt
pepper
For the sauce:
1 onion, coarsely chopped
6-5 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
6 fresh tomatoes, cut into cubes
1 bottle of concentrated tomato juice
Salt
pepper
1 teaspoon flat sugar
1 cm ginger root
3 Thyme branches
2 bay leaves
4-3 glasses of water
Using a knife, make a small hole around the pepper stalk and remove it.
Thoroughly wash all the peppers inside and out and dry on paper towel.
Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
Put the onion, parsley, garlic, a little olive oil, salt and pepper in a mixer - and mash well.
Add the mixture to the meat and stir.
Drain the rice, add to the meat mixture, mix well and season with salt and pepper.
Fill the peppers to about 3/4 of the height of the pepper, to leave room for the rice to rise.
Now, for the sauce.
Fry the onion until transparent, add the garlic, spices and diced tomatoes, and continue to fry for another 5 minutes.
Add the bottle of tomato concentrate and water, continue to cook until boiling, lower the heat and cook for another 10 minutes.
Drain the sauce from all the pieces, pour it into a pot that can be put in the oven and place the stuffed peppers in it.
Cook over medium heat with the lid closed for 30 minutes (until the rice is tender).
Occasionally open the lid and with the help of a spoon put sauce in the peppers.
After cooking, preheat the oven to 200 degrees and put the peppers in a short oven without a lid, until browned.
Cannelloni stuffed with meat with tomato sauce
A winning recipe for kids.
Cannelloni stuffed with meat with tomato sauce, Photo: Assaf Carla
Ingredients for the tomato sauce:
6 ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt
pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
To fill:
1 pack of cannelloni pasta
500 grams of minced meat
1 onion, chopped
Olive oil
Salt
pepper
Start with the tomato sauce.
Fry the onion in a pan over a medium flame, until slightly golden.
Add the garlic and tomatoes and continue to fry, stirring, for 15 minutes, until the tomatoes become puree.
Add the spices, water and oil, mix and cook for another 10 minutes.
Now, for the filling.
Fry the onion in a pan over a medium flame, until translucent.
Add the spices and meat, stir, fry for 3 minutes and remove from the heat.
Add 5-3 tablespoons of the tomato sauce and mix everything together.
Grease a pan with olive oil, fill the cannelloni with the meat mixture, place in a pan and pour over the tomato sauce with a sieve (you can also add basil leaves).
Bake in the oven with the pan covered, at 180 degrees, for 30 minutes.
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