She was just as overwhelmed as other parents juggling babies and toddlers, but she believed there must be a way to do it smarter, to be more adaptable and practical for families.
"Many of my hours are spent caring for our kids, taxiing Curran and Cleo to school, sports practices and playdates, squeezing in exercise, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life myself."
So her cooking evolved to suit her reality.
She plans ahead, prepares a few basics on a Sunday afternoon or when she has a spare 10 minutes so that when it comes time to cook dinner she can be halfway there already.
"I enjoy the sourcing, the conversation and the chaos of getting food to the table.
"I care about wellness and the long-term benefits of eating real food."
Like she does on her online Sprouted Kitchen blog and Cooking Club, her recipe book Around Our Table aims to provide flavourful, casual beautiful food that is delicious and nourishing.
"These are the dishes that I can make ahead for those evenings when we arrive home after soccer practice and everyone is starving, or to give to a friend with a new baby.
She included the muffins she gives her kids when they are late to school and the salad dressings that make her happy to eat a bowl of plants for dinner.
"Herein lie the cookies I can make from memory for special occasions or just because it’s Tuesday, or the guacamole Hugh makes every time we buy avocados, and the Brussels sprouts dish that is requested every family holiday dinner."
The recipes are a mix of get on the table in 30 minutes with those requiring longer cooking perfect for a slow Sunday or winter afternoon.
They are broken into chapters based on breakfasts, snacks, salads and sides, mains, make ahead meals, treats and condiments.
She also includes a handy menu idea section which suggests the following recipes for a Casey night in.
The Book
This is an edited extract from Around Our Table by Sara Forte published by Hardie Grant Books.
RRP AU $55 NZ $60
Butternut and chorizo flatbread with pepita pesto
If you’re feeling frisky, start with the Day-ahead pizza dough (recipe below) the day before you plan to serve these. But, to be honest, I usually make these on good store-bought naan.
If I take them to someone else’s house, I assemble the naan on a large rimmed baking sheet and then bake them in a hot oven when I get to said destination.
Look for a dry-cured chorizo, which is more the texture of salami than a ground sausage. I have found it pre-sliced or in a log in the deli section.
Makes 2 large or four small pizzas
Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash, cut into 1cm cubes (about 3 heaping cups /420g)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Pepita pesto
2 cloves garlic
1 large bundle coriander
3 slices of jalapeno
40g roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp lime juice
28g grated parmesan
80ml olive oil
Day-ahead pizza dough or 4 pieces of naan
¼ of a red onion, thinly sliced
57g dry-cured chorizo, thinly sliced
113g ball mozzarella cheese
Baby arugula/rocket, for garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Put butternut cubes on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil, paprika, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring halfway, until tender and golden on the edges. Set aside.
While your squash bakes, combine the garlic, coriander, and jalapeno in a food processor and give it a few pulses to break down. Add the pepitas, salt, and lime juice and run the processor. With the motor running, sprinkle in the parmesan and drizzle in the olive oil. Season to taste and set aside. Both the pesto and the roasted squash can be prepared in advance.
Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Roll out dough and press to the edges of the skillet. Spread a few spoonfuls of pesto over the top, sprinkle the squash, onion, and chorizo, then tear up the cheese and sprinkle over generously. Or, arrange the naan on a rimmed baking sheet and assemble from there. Pop the skillet or baking sheet in the upper third of the oven and bake the pizza for around 8 minutes, or until the crust and cheese on top turns golden. Remove to cool slightly, top with baby arugula/rocket, slice, and serve. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.
CHANGE IT UP
Vegetarian: Simply skip the meat or add some thinly sliced, roasted mushrooms.
Crostini version: Gently toast some crostini. Add the toppings but use a crumble of goat cheese over the top instead of the mozzarella.
Day-ahead pizza dough
I know, I’m asking you to plan ahead a day, but the hands-on time is simple. There are a few steps, but nothing is difficult, just worth a heads-up before you jump in.
As it sits, the dough ferments, which is the element that adds flavour to a simple mixture of flour, water, and yeast.
The only way to impart flavour into something as simple as plain pizza dough is time, so although this dough will still work if you use it within a few hours, it tastes better the next day and still works the day after that.
The upside of that wait time is how quickly the dough comes together in the first place. Italian "00" flour and bread flours are available online and will yield an exceptional crust. We save this for smaller family dinners or make a double batch when we fire up the backyard pizza oven for friends.
The pizzas come out slowly, and everyone grazes throughout the process. This is the dough I use in flatbread if I’ve planned ahead.
Makes dough for 2 or 3 small pizzas
Ingredients
Scant ½ tsp active dry yeast
240-300ml warm (not hot) water 2 teaspoons cane sugar
180g "00" flour or all-purpose flour 1
½ cups/180g bread flour
1½ tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + more for the bowl
Cornmeal or semolina
Method
Combine the yeast, 240ml of the warm water, and the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, and let it sit a couple of minutes for the yeast to activate.
To the bowl of the stand mixer with a dough hook, add the flours and salt.
Turn the mixer on low. Mix the dough for 3 minutes, adding water if needed, 1 Tbsp at a time, to make a smooth ball.
Scrape the dry flour down into the mix if you need to. Let it rest for 5 minutes, add the oil, then mix it another 3 minutes.
The dough should look sticky but resemble a loose ball and pull away from the sides. When you touch it, your hands will get sticky, but you should be able to transfer the ball.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge for at least 12 hours, ideally 24 hours, and up to 48 hours.
On the day of pizza making, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Cover your work surface with a generous dusting of flour. Divide the dough into three parts, roll them through the flour and into balls, cover them with a dish towel, and let them proof at room temperature for 1 to 3 hours.
The dough should increase in size, but rise time is weather and humidity dependent.
If it’s cold out, this will take longer.
When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 260°C, along with a pizza stone, cast-iron skillet, or baking sheet. Prepare toppings.
Holiday greens
It took me years to figure this out, even though I’ve been responsible for bringing the green salad to nearly every family holiday dinner for the last decade.
A tender-leafed salad takes up too much room on the plate when sharing real estate with eight other dishes in a buffet. It’s laborious to eat and doesn’t fare well next to other hot, generally mushy foods.
The answer? Slaw-ish things! Or a well-chopped salad, but let’s focus on the former.
It is easy to get a forkful of this dish, and it gets along well with other foods. It is also excellent to prep ahead. When pomegranates are no longer available, sub in a shaved green apple or dried cherries.
The recipe makes a large salad but is easily doubled. Need it to travel? Prepare all the vegetables together, leave the nuts, cheese, and dressing on the side, and assemble at your destination.
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 bunches Tuscan kale, ribs removed
450g Brussels sprouts
1 small fennel bulb, halved and cored
½ a small red onion, minced and rinsed
Shallot Date Vinaigrette (below)
85g almonds, chopped and toasted, divided
75g grated Manchego cheese, divided
190g pomegranate seeds, divided
Method
Chiffonade (shred finely) the kale and put it in a large mixing bowl.
Use a mandoline on a fairly thin setting or a sharp knife and shave the Brussels sprouts (discarding the ends) and fennel. Add them to the mixing bowl along with the onion.
Dress the salad as you wish, but I suggest using your hands so you can massage it into the kale and Brussels, which tenderizes them a bit. Add half of the almonds, Manchego, and pomegranate seeds and toss again to mix.
Garnish with the remaining almonds, Manchego, and pomegranate seeds and serve.
Shallot date vinaigrette
A text of affection, for me, goes something like "I had this amazing salad with the best dressing and I think you could copy it". That is how we found this incredible dressing: via my friend Katie after dining at a spot called Bells on the California central coast. It’s sweet-ish and nuanced and has that umami goodness from the nutritional yeast and Parm. So good!
Makes 1 cup/240 ml
Ingredients
2 Medjool dates, pitted
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp lemon juice
60ml champagne vinegar
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Handful of fresh parsley
Handful of fresh chives
160ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
Method
Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add water if you want to thin it further. This vinaigrette will last 1 to 2 weeks stored in the fridge.
CHANGE IT UP
We use it as a basic vinaigrette, but I could see it leaning Mediterranean ... maybe even with a pinch of curry to push it more Indian-ish.
Browned butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
I make a lot of our treats and snacks with almond meal and dairy alternatives and hidden produce, but when it comes to a chocolate chip cookie, you need a back-pocket recipe for a classic version.
Make the dough in advance, and bake off the cookies just after dinner so they are nice and warm and your house smells like a dream.
I make these for new moms and teachers, or to bookend a sturdy ice cream sandwich.
Makes 14
Ingredients
130g salted butter
2 tsp finely ground coffee or instant coffee
100g sugar
110g light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
45g old-fashioned oats
180g unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ tspn baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
128g semi-sweet chocolate chips (113 g chopped dark chocolate)
Flaky salt, for finishing
Method
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Swirl it around. Warm it enough to be fragrant, just golden, and a little nutty smelling, about 10 minutes.
Off the heat, stir in the coffee grounds.
Let it cool down and transfer it to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl. Let it cool completely.
Add the sugar and brown sugar and mix until well incorporated. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and almond extracts and mix again.
Add the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until the flours are just mixed in. Add the chocolate and mix one more time. Put the mixture in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes to chill while you line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180°C.
Make balls of about 3 tablespoons worth of dough and space them on your baking sheets. Sprinkle the tops with flaky salt.
Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, then slam the pans down on the counter when you remove them.
They will look underdone and I promise thats all right; theyll set as they cool.
Cookies will keep, covered, for 2 days, but are a dream about 20 minutes out of the oven.
CHANGE IT UP
I often sub chopped dark chocolate bars in place of the chocolate chips to make these look a little fancier. Bake them straight on the baking sheet for a slightly crisper bottom crust. If you use a dairy-free butter, skip the browning step and just melt it.
MAKE AHEAD
Roll balls of raw dough and freeze them for a later use. To bake, bring them out while you preheat the oven, and add 3 minutes to the baking time.
