Imagine dinner and craft-making rolled into one mouth-watering dish… and let me introduce that magical, meal-in-one combination.
This is a fabulous recipe for everyone to make together, and it adds real fun as children untie the string to see what they’ve created.
I love these served with shop-bought naan bread on the side.
Theo’s top tips
• Place all the ingredients on different plates ready for the kids to build their own parcel.
• Gamify dinner – they have to use an ingredient they’ve not tried before.
• Because everyone is making their own parcel, you can include chilli for the adults or tailor each parcel to everyone’s own preferences, adding more curry powder if you want a stronger flavour.
• Try swapping chicken for a fillet of fish (reduce cooking time by five minutes) or go vegan and add pre-roasted cauliflower in replace of the chicken.
How to make Theo Michaels’ gift-wrapped parcels:
Serves four
You need (per person):
- 1 sheet baking parchment – 18” x 18”
- 12” string (natural not synthetic)
Ingredients
- ½ courgette, sliced
- 1 vine tomato, sliced
- 1 cup peas
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 inch ginger, chopped
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced 1 inch thick
- 4 tsp mild curry powder
- 500g gnocchi (shop bought)
- 1 x 400g can coconut milk
- Pinch salt
- 1 sliced red chilli (optional)
Serve with:
- 1 small naan bread per person
Garnish with:
- Few sprigs of fresh coriander and wedge of lime
Method:
Pre-heated oven 180c fan/200c.
Lightly season the chicken with a pinch of curry powder and salt and reserve.
Lay the baking parchment out flat on a clean work surface or dining table and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil in the middle then place a handful of gnocchi into the centre of each baking sheet (don’t let it spread any larger than a side plate).
Top the gnocchi with all the vegetables then sprinkle a teaspoon of curry powder over the top and pour over about 100ml coconut milk (about a third of a cup) and finish with a portion of the chicken on top. Don’t worry if the coconut milk starts to spread, once you create the parcel it will hold it.
Bring the corners of the parchment together squeezing the excess to create a parcel around the ingredients, ensuring there are no gaps. Give it a twist and secure the neck with a bit of string (we tie them like a shoelace so it’s easy to untie once cooked).
Place all the parcels onto a baking tray and into a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
Once removed from the oven, untie (or cut) the string and open the package, being careful of the steam. Garnish with chopped coriander, a wedge of lime and serve with naan bread.
Full recipe can be found at FiveDinners.
Along with a free online family meal planner, where you can also alter the serving size for the ingredient quantity to change automatically.
Follow Theo Michaels on Instagram @theocooks
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