Family first at mealtimes

If you want an honest answer, ask a toddler. They'll make their feelings known, loud and clear - which means product tasting sessions at baby food brand Ella's Kitchen can get pretty messy.

"If they love it, you can really tell. And if they don't like it, they'll throw it on the floor or the walls," says Paul Lindley, who founded the organic firm in 2006 as an alternative to the "invariably orange" and not very eye-catching jars of baby food available when his own daughter Ella was small.

With its handy pouches and colourful, quirky packaging (the current line-up includes Groovy Greens Veggie Risotto and Lip-Smacking Spag Bol), the small start-up proved a hit with parents and little ones, and is now the biggest baby food business in the UK and sold in 40 countries around the world.

Now, the fourth Ella's Kitchen book - The Easy Family Cookbook - has hit the shelves. A collection of recipes from a company best known for pre-prepared food might sound like a contradiction, but Lindley insists it's all about striking a balance.

"We never say you should have Ella's Kitchen and nothing else. In fact we know most of our customers do a mix. They have home-made food and on occasion, whether things are running late or they're running low in the cupboard, or they're out and about or on holiday or whatever, then there's an alternative they can trust," he says.

The book includes all sorts of colourful recipes, from dunkable cheesy broccoli fritters and sunset jerk chicken, to seaside fish with creamy corn dip and sticky sesame bananas. But there's just as much emphasis on eating together and making mealtime fun as there is on flavour and nourishment, with 'Can I help?' tips on how young children can get stuck into the cooking, and games to play around the kitchen table.

"If you involve children in food, however old they are, they're more likely to eat it. Even if it's, 'Let's make a shopping list together', or, 'Let's find it in the shop together'. Even just stirring, or helping to put something into the oven, they're involved in the process," says Lindley.

Fancy trying some new recipes with your family? Here are three from The Easy Family Cookbook to have a go with...

RAINBOW LAMB & COUSCOUS SALAD

(Serves 4)

60g couscous

4tbsp flaked almonds (optional)

1tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and cut into ribbons or coarsely grated

1 courgette, cut into ribbons or coarsely grated

175g leftover roast lamb (or other roast meat), cut into thin strips

4 radishes, thinly sliced

6 ready-to-eat dried dates, roughly chopped

A handful of chopped mint

A handful of chopped coriander

For the dressing:

3tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove, crushed

1tsp cumin seeds (optional)

Put the couscous in a bowl, pour in just-boiled water to cover, put a plate on top and leave for five minutes to absorb the water and until the grains are tender. Fluff up with a fork.

Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the dressing, adding the cumin seeds, if using, and set aside.

Toast the almonds, if using, in a large, dry frying pan for two minutes, or until starting to turn golden. Chop finely for young children.

Heat a splash of oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for five minutes, until soft.

Stir in the carrots, courgette and lamb and heat for five minutes.

Tip into the bowl with the couscous, add the radishes, dates and herbs and combine gently.

Pour over the dressing and combine again.

Sprinkle with the almonds, if using, and serve warm or at room temperature.

AWESOME APPLE HOTCAKES

(Makes 10)

115g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

1 egg, beaten

175ml buttermilk

3-4tbsp whole milk

1tbsp maple syrup or clear honey, plus extra for drizzling

1tsp vanilla extract

1 eating apple (skin on), cored and coarsely grated

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Unsalted butter or sunflower oil, for cooking

Fruit and natural yogurt, to serve

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and mix together.

Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, milk, maple syrup or honey and vanilla in a jug, then gradually whisk it into the flour mixture to make a fairly thick batter. Leave to rest for 20 minutes (or overnight, if easier).

Stir the grated apple and cinnamon into the batter, adding a splash more milk if the batter seems too thick. It should be about the thickness of double cream.

Heat enough butter or oil to lightly grease the base of a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add three or four individual ladlefuls of batter (about three tablespoons per hotcake) into the pan to cook three or four hotcakes at a time. Cook the hotcakes for four to six minutes, turning once, until golden and set. Keep warm in a low oven while you make 10 hotcakes in total.

Serve the hotcakes topped with fruit and yogurt, drizzled with a little extra maple syrup or honey.

• Ella's Kitchen: The Easy Family Cookbook (Hamlyn, £14.99)