COOKING WITH YOUNG KIDS: Tomato and White Bean Bruschetta  

A Simple and Scrummy Recipe for Cooking With Young Kids …  

Hola/Bonjour/Hello from the Toddler Test Kitchen.

My name is Bethany and I’m here to share a recipe with you all at Cooking with Languages. I love to cook and bake, so I started doing “cooking classes” with my kids (ages 2 and 4), experimenting with simple recipes, and documenting with pictures of the toddlers in action. I love how cooking can be an amazing learning experience in so many ways!

COOKING WITH YOUNG KIDS (ages 1-5)

If you are making this with the youngest age of chef, I find that having success depends on preparation! For this recipe, I’d recommend the adult prepping by…

1. Chopping the baguette.
2. Mixing the olive oil with garlic and pepper.
3. Draining and rinsing the cannellini beans.
4. Dicing the tomatoes.
5. Slicing the fresh basil into thin ribbons.

Now, your child can focus on these REALLY FUN KITCHEN TASKS!

1. Painting the baguette rounds with olive oil mixture.
2. Mashing the cannellini beans.
3. Mixing the diced tomatoes with the rest of the list.
4. Perhaps spreading the beans onto the baguettes.
5. Piling the tomato mixture on top!

USING OUR SENSES

One really fun moment during this recipe was while mixing the tomatoes in with the rest of the topping ingredients. I asked my four-year-old to smell each ingredient as he added it – the balsamic vinegar, the fresh basil, the parmesan cheese, pepper and salt, and the garlic.

My 4-year-old can be extremely picky so I think it’s awesome that while he’s helping make something he can experience some ingredients that he’d never eat in other ways, by touching or smelling them!

YOU WILL NEED

• 1/2 baguette
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided in half
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground, divided in half
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
• 2 large globe tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil chiffonade (thin ribbons)
• 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

• 

  to mash

• 

  to dice

• 

  spatula

• 

  olive oil

• 

  tomato

• 

  garlic

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LET’S GET STARTED!

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Slice your baguette into 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Mix olive oil, half the garlic, and 1/8 tsp pepper in a small bowl.

Brush olive oil mixture onto baguette rounds using a pastry brush.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Mash cannellini beans with a fork then set aside.

In a bowl, combine diced tomatoes, salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, balsamic vinegar, remaining garlic, fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Spread a thin layer of mashed beans onto each baked baguette. Top each bean layer with 2 Tbsp of tomato mixture.

Enjoy!

I must say these were incredibly delicious! I couldn’t get enough! These would make a great appetizer, side or a light dinner.

Recipe credit goes to Tulane University’s Culinary Medicine website – where you can find all sorts of resources including healthy and simple recipes to make at home with your kids.

KEEPIN’ IT REAL

And here is my real life mess after we devoured these for dinner! While I try to create beautiful pictures of the kids cooking, reality is quite a bit messier – and there are always dishes to be done! My kids enjoyed the cooking process but didn’t try the finished product (that’s pretty typical at our house). They enjoyed plain baguettes with butter.

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  Printable Recipe …

Tomato and White Bean Bruschetta

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Course Snack, Starter

Ingredients

  

YOU WILL NEED

• 1/2 baguette
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic minced, divided in half
• 1/4 tsp black pepper ground, divided in half
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 large globe tomatoes diced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil chiffonade thin ribbons
• 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese grated

Instructions

 

LET'S GET STARTED!

• Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
• Slice your baguette into 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet in a single layer.
• Mix olive oil, half the garlic, and 1/8 tsp pepper in a small bowl.
• Brush olive oil mixture onto baguette rounds using a pastry brush.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Mash cannellini beans with a fork then set aside.
• In a bowl, combine diced tomatoes, salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, balsamic vinegar, remaining garlic, fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
• Spread a thin layer of mashed beans onto each baked baguette.
• Top each bean layer with 2 Tbsp of tomato mixture.

Enjoy!

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