If food allergies and fussy eaters make family mealtimes stressful, TV chef and popular GP, Dr Preeya Alexander offers helpful tips and recipes to ease the tension in her new cookbook, Full Plate: One meal for the whole family. Here, Dr Preeya shares some of her favourite recipes, full of goodness, that all the family will enjoy.
Roasted Tomato Soup
Serves 4
- 6 tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- Handful of fresh basil leaves or 1 Tbsp dried basil, plus extra fresh basil to serve
- 1 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves (or dried if that’s what you have)
- Bread, to serve
Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Place the tomatoes flesh side up, garlic and thyme on an oven tray and cover with a generous glug of olive oil – aim for about 1–2 tablespoons. Season with pepper and salt as desired. Roast in the oven for 30–35 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked (and the tray smells amazing when you remove it).
In a saucepan, heat the stock over medium heat. Carefully transfer the contents of the tray to the pan (you shouldn’t need more oil – there’ll be leftovers in the tray). Add the basil and oregano and simmer for 15 minutes.
Use a stick blender or food processor to carefully blitz the mixture until smooth. Serve with bread if you like, and fresh basil on top.
Nerd win: A bowl of this soup is a serious veggie hit – tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, which is important for immune health and wound healing.
Tuna Pasta Bake
Serves 6
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 heaped Tbsp minced ginger (yes, it’s a lot but go hard here)
- ½ Tbsp minced garlic
- 425 g can tuna in olive oil (drain some of the olive oil, but leave 1–2 tsp in there for flavour)
- 800 g can tomatoes, plus any soggy tomatoes you have lying around
- 6 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cups chopped baby spinach or silverbeet, stems removed
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- Salt and pepper
- 500 g packet pasta
- 2 cups grated cheese (I use cheddar and/or mozzarella)
Preheat the oven to 180ºC with the grill setting on.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the tuna and fry for 4–5 minutes, ensuring all chunks are broken down with a wooden spoon.
Add the canned tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add all the vegetables (including those soggy tomatoes) and the olives. Allow the sauce to gently simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet directions, reserving 1 tablespoon pasta water when draining.
Stir the cooked pasta through the sauce, adding 1 tablespoon pasta water for consistency, if needed.
Transfer the pasta mixture to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle cheese over with gusto and fanfare. Bake for 10–12 minutes until the cheese on top is golden.
Hot tip: If you’re making this for adults that like some heat, add 1–2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes when you’re frying the ginger and garlic.
For infants and kids
• Try to use low-salt canned tomatoes.
• This is suitable for a range of ages. If feeding infants under 1, blitz in a food processor or mash to reach the desired texture.
• You can choose the pasta according to what your infant can tolerate – macaroni may work better than rigatoni for younger kids.
• This is a budget-friendly way to get fish in the diet for infants under 1 to reduce their risk of food allergies.
• Finely chop or squash the olives if you’re feeding kids under 5 to reduce the risk of choking.
Pear Rhubarb Crumble
Serves 4
- 4 pears, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 stalks rhubarb, chopped
- 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise (1 tsp of vanilla extract works too)
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup plain flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1⁄3 cup desiccated coconut
- 80 g butter, softened and cubed
- Cream or ice-cream, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180ºC with the grill setting on.
In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to the boil. Add the pear, rhubarb, vanilla bean and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Simmer over gentle heat for 15–20 minutes until the liquid reduces and you have a thick, gluggy consistency.
Meanwhile, combine the flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon. Add the butter and, using clean fingers (please wash them and don’t be a gross human), rub the ingredients together so the mixture becomes like breadcrumbs.
Once the fruit mixture is ready, spoon it into an ovenproof dish (filled three-quarters full) and generously sprinkle with the crumble mixture. Bake the crumble in the oven for 15–20 minutes until golden.
Serve with a dollop of cream or ice-cream.
To make it …
Dairy free: replace the butter with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.
Gluten free: substitute almond meal for the plain flour and source oats that are free from gluten contamination.
