Kids
The No-Cheese, No-Sauce Pasta Amanda Hesser & Her Kids Eat on Repeat
It's in the running for best pantry pasta ever.
Welcome to More Ketchup, Please, our newest series that’s spilling the beans on all the different ways we cook for, and with, our kids. We've got some great guests stopping by, to get schooled by their little ones on how to perfect family favorites. The more (cooks) the merrier? We think so.
If it surprises you how self-sufficient Amanda Hesser’s 12-year-old twins Walker and Addison are in the kitchen, then you probably haven’t read Cooking for Mr. Latte. The 2003 cookbook with memoir is an account of how her husband went from being a man with an empty refrigerator when they first met, to a pasta-making supremo after they had kids. If you have read Mr. Latte, then it’d be perfectly logical to expect this love of food and fearless cooking from her kids, whose starter lessons in the kitchen began when they were little.
As extra small humans, they’d hang around the kitchen as their mother cooked, sampling their way through. (Amanda’s own adventures with feeding herself began with Gaines Burgers dog food, age 3.)
“When they were really young,” Amanda says, “I would have unreasonable expectations for how neat children should be in the kitchen. I was like, ‘What? You don't understand dipping and sweeping?’” Now, she says, she’s more likely to meet them where they are.
This year, the twins have started making their own lunches, which means Amanda’s days of making ambitious kids’ meals and chronicling them are done (unfortunately for us). “You’ve gone from watching us cook to sitting at the kitchen table, and letting us ask you questions,” Addison says to her mom.
| 1 | pound pasta (see above) |
| 1/2 | cup olive oil |
| 1 | tablespoon lemon zest, in thin strips |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 1/2 | teaspoon chili flakes (optional, for the sake of small humans) |
| 1/2 | teaspoon black pepper (optional, for the same reason) |
| 2 | garlic cloves, slivered |
| 1/4 | teaspoon fennel seeds |
| 1/4 | cup pine nuts |
| 2 | tablespoons capers, coarsely chopped |
| 1 | tablespoon preserved lemon, rinsed and chopped (optional) |
| 12 | ounces olive oil-packed tuna (slightly more or less is fine) |
| 1 | pound pasta (see above) |
| 1/2 | cup olive oil |
| 1 | tablespoon lemon zest, in thin strips |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 1/2 | teaspoon chili flakes (optional, for the sake of small humans) |
| 1/2 | teaspoon black pepper (optional, for the same reason) |
| 2 | garlic cloves, slivered |
| 1/4 | teaspoon fennel seeds |
| 1/4 | cup pine nuts |
| 2 | tablespoons capers, coarsely chopped |
| 1 | tablespoon preserved lemon, rinsed and chopped (optional) |
| 12 | ounces olive oil-packed tuna (slightly more or less is fine) |
This fragrant pasta with preserved tuna, adapted from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, is a repeat offender.
“It was something that we posted on the site, and caught my eye, so I started making it, and everyone really liked it,” says Amanda. “When it came time for them to learn how to make lunches, it seemed like a natural choice because it's straightforward, and has all the ingredients that they love.” (Minus the preserved lemon, which they’ve since eliminated.)
“Maybe we can make sushi next,” says Walker.
“I’d try,” says Addison.
Written by: Arati Menon
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14 Comments
Fantastic video!
What a team!!!
In these times this video speaks normal and comfort.
Thank you!
When I was a kid (and a fussy eater, although not in the typical kid way), I liked tuna, noodles, and cottage cheese mixed together (while my mom preferred tuna, noodles, and sour cream). But I strongly prefer tuna (preferably solid white) packed in water, not oil, because the stuff packed in oil tends to "repeat" on me.
This recipe is a typical meal that one would find in a home...not an American version. Oil. cheese, seasoning, vegetables, pasta...these are parts of a dish. Sauces not so much. It is good to see authentic things. I am not surprised kids like it. True tastes taste good.
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