Caitríona Redmond: Get the trick-or-treaters fed early with these slow cooker meatballs
I’m preparing for Hallowe’en week in my house which comes with added pressure because my youngest’s birthday falls just after the day itself and I always associate the season with celebrations.
Through the years I have thrown many Hallowe’en themed parties with a food twist and here are just some of the activities we will get up to.
We’ve all heard of pumpkin carving, but have you heard of turnip carving? Turnip jack-o-lanterns are more traditional in Ireland than pumpkins.
They’re also far more difficult and time consuming to do. It’s a good pastime to set idle hands to. If your kids aren’t all that bothered, tell them to look up the oldest turnip carving in the world, and see if they can pinpoint where it can be found.
Apples are in season at the moment and the Irish apples have never tasted better.
If you can bear to set some to one side for a traditional game of apple bobbing, make sure to keep a dry towel to one side to mop up any spills of water.
Apple-bobbing is where you fill up a basin with water, float the apples on top, and the challenge is to catch the apple with your teeth and your hands held firmly behind your back.
If you have a child who is averse to putting their face in the water (we’ve all been there), why not try a game of pass-the-apple instead.
Once again hands are held behind your back but put the children in a circle. The aim is to pass the apple from person to person using only your chin.
If you drop the apple, you must share your Hallowe’en loot!
It makes for a very convincing fake toffee apple, but make sure you are prepared to deal with the consequences.
If your family didn’t have trust issues before hand you can be guaranteed they may never trust whatever you serve up to them in future.
I confess, I’ve never been brave enough to try this mean prank on my family.
My rule of thumb for the night itself is to feed the kids their dinner in the middle of the day. As soon as it begins to get dark outside, they will want to start knocking on doors and at that point my window of opportunity to feed them a decent meal is gone.
Generally, I opt for pasta and a slow cooker sauce-based recipe. With plenty of carbs on the plate to keep the smaller people in the family going, I will enjoy my hot dinner in peace after the door has stopped rattling thanks to the slow cooker.
You can see this year’s recipe below.
For most families, trick or treating at Hallowe’en is a night of great fun and excitement. There are no restrictions on what is collected at the door or given out. If there’s an allergy in the house, Hallowe’en can become fraught. Part of the enjoyment is gathering items as a trick, or a treat and it can’t be expected that everyone will be familiar with allergies or dietary needs. It would be impossible to accommodate all needs at the door.
I try to keep a few packs of allergy-friendly treats to one side in case a neighbour calls with a specific allergy and maybe that’s something you, as a benefactor, would consider.
If you are living with a child with a dietary restriction, you might offer an exchange to your child when they arrive home with a bag of treats. Those treats might look very attractive to most but may prove deadly to others. Whether it’s money or a suitable sweet item to ‘cash in’ their bag of goodies with, it means that children can still go from door to door with abandon. It’s up to you what you do with your newly acquired loot though.
This extremely simple recipe will fill up your trick or treaters before they hit the footpaths at Hallowe’en. It’s low in salt, and high in flavour and nourishment. Importantly, it’s easy to assemble for busy homemakers. Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients 20 meatballs (homemade or shop bought is fine) Sunflower oil for frying 1 onion, peeled 2 cloves of garlic, peeled 2 carrots, peeled 1 pepper, core removed 500ml passata Salt & pepper Fresh basil for serving Method Use the sunflower oil to fry the meatballs in a non-stick pan set to medium until golden brown on the outside. Once the meatballs are golden brown pop them into a slow cooker set to high. Turn the hob under the frying pan to low. Close the lid of the slow cooker. Take a food processor and pulse the onion, garlic, carrots, and pepper using the general blade until everything is puree style. Cook the purée off in the still-hot frying pan. This will take about 10 minutes to reduce the astringency of the onion. Pour the cooked puree into the slow cooker and add the passata. Stir well. Cook the meatballs in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, until you have an unctuous sauce. Season to taste. I like to add torn leaves of fresh basil on top of the meatballs mixture and serve them with spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions until al dente (with a little bite). Strain the spaghetti and stir the cooked pasta into the sauce in the slow cooker before serving.Slow-Cooker Meatballs
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