A Unique Child: Nutrition - Get cooking Multicultural

With sushi, olives and other 'foreign' foods now commonplace in many family homes, children are being raised with ever more sophisticated tastes that nurseries need to respond to.

Nursery food should embrace the plethora of 'multicultural' influences in modern Britain. However, while Chinese and Indian dishes are the most popular of foreign foods, they have also gained a somewhat unhealthy reputation as a staple of cheap take-away meals. But nurseries can adapt these dishes easily by using healthy ingredients, such as pulses, vegetables, organic eggs and olive oil, and subtle flavouring with traditional spices so as not to overpower young palates.

An easy example of this is Chinese fried rice. Use olive/sunflower oil, organic/free range eggs, brown rice, a choice of vegetables, such as red peppers and peas, with a splash of soy sauce and a sprinkling of cheese on top - and you have a highly nutritious, flavoursome and easy-to-prepare nursery meal. You can also add chicken or other meats.

Using brown rice increases the nutritional value of a dish hugely, as it contains more protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants than white rice. The same is true of brown pasta.

We use mainly brown rice and pasta at Tall Trees and find that children will eat these as readily as the white varieties. The benefits of this switch include the taste, which is actually better than white.

Nurseries can also link ethnic dishes to the early years curriculum, by exploring their countries of origin and where the ingredients come from, and by viewing them as part of an inclusive and multicultural early education. Why not ask parents from different cultural backgrounds to supply their own favourite recipes that can perhaps be adapted for nursery use? This makes for a truly inclusive exercise that celebrates the uniqueness of each child.

This recipe is hugely popular at Tall Trees, and enjoyed by all age groups.

Sweet vegetable and chickpea curry
Serves approximately 30 children
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 parsnips
12 carrots
1 large swede
1lb cooked chickpeas (if using dried, take care to follow instructions
for soaking/cooking carefully)
1 litre carton of pure pineapple juice
2 tbsp Knorr veg bouillon mixed with 3 pints boiling water
3 tbsp organic tomato puree
1 1/2 tbsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
4oz butter
2 tbsp organic sunflower oil
4 tbsp flour

Method

- Peel and chop all vegetables into small pieces, then cook in a large saucepan with the lid on.

- Add the cooked chickpeas.

- In another saucepan, melt the butter and oil, add the flour and curry and cumin powder, and make a roux sauce using the stock and pineapple juice.

- Add the tomato puree and bring slowly to the boil.

- Drain the vegetables and chickpeas.

- Add to the sauce and mix well.

- Serve with brown rice.

Emma Comer is owner-manager and Meg Smith is cook at Tall Trees Kindergarten, Frome, Somerset. www.talltreeskindergarten.co.uk