ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

1 large butternut squash, cut into quarters lengthways, seeds removed
olive oil, for drizzling
2 tbsp butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only, plus few sprigs fresh thyme, left whole

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Place the squash in a roasting tin, cut-sides up.
Drizzle over the olive oil and dot with the butter. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then scatter over the thyme leaves and the whole sprigs of thyme.
Roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the squash is tender and has turned golden-brown in places. Bon appetite!

SPRING ROLLS

300g pack cooked rice noodles from the chiller cabinet (see tips)
400g mixed vegetables, thinly sliced and put in separate bowls, such as red peppers, beansprouts, carrots, shredded Chinese leaf cabbage, spring onions
140g cooked prawns
100g cooked chicken or duck, shredded
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
small piece ginger, finely chopped
splash light soy sauce
Chinese five-spice powder, for sprinkling
8-10 sheets filo pastry
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds, for sprinkling if you want
For the dipping sauce:

Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Before you get the kids cooking, put the noodles, vegetables, prawns and chicken in individual bowls for everyone to help themselves. Wash hands, put aprons on, sit the kids down and give them their own mixing bowl and spoon. Let them choose which ingredients they want (noodles are essential) in their rolls and if they want to graze as they choose, that’s fine – all the ingredients are cooked or can be eaten raw. Add a bit of garlic and ginger, a tiny dash of soy and sprinkling of five-spice to each bowl and let them mix everything together.

Push the bowl aside and lay a sheet of pastry in front of each child. Ask them to spoon the filling down one side of each sheet then give them the beaten egg and a brush so they can brush around the edges. Then help them to roll them up neatly by folding both sides over the filling, then rolling them up.

Lift the spring rolls onto a baking tray, seam side down, brush with a little more egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if you want. Try to remember which child made which roll to save any arguments at the end! Bake the rolls for 20-25 mins or until golden.

When the spring rolls are golden and crisp, remove from the oven.  Bon appetite!

FRIED SPRAT

In Estonia this dish is made with sprat (baltic herring), a subspecies of the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). Baltic herring is smaller and less fatty than the Atlantic herring, and they're also much smaller - up to 18 cm long compared to the Atlantic herring's 40-45 cm. Sprat (baltic herring) is considered the "national fish" of Estonia. It's known as silakka in Finnish, strömming in Swedish, hareng de la Baltique in French. True (Nordic) fish aficionados claim the taste of Baltic herring to be superior to the taste of much more well-known sardines. :)
If you cannot get hold of the Baltic herring, you could try sardines instead - apparently the marinade works well with fried sardines, too.

1 kg fresh sprat 
5-6 egg
200-300g flour
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
oil, for frying

Clean the fish (remove the heads, guts and backbone). Beat the eggs with salt and black pepper. Fry the fish. Dip fish fillets into the mixture, flesh side down. Press both sides of the fish into the flour, shaking off any extra flour.
Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot. Place the breaded fish fillets, flesh sides down, onto the pan and fry for a 2-3 minutes, until dark golden brown. Flip gently over and fry the skin side until golden brown. Bon appetite!

This is a fresh sprat.