Baby Vegetable Sauce
This lovely veggie packed pasta sauce, is incredibly versatile. Both my children (8 months and 4 years) love it. For my baby boy, I mix it through baby pasta shells and for my daughter I use it to top pizzas, roasted fish or as a dip for chicken strips. It really transforms so many recipes. This is the version I make which is baby friendly. It is packed full of goodness and freezes beautifully.
This recipe does contain tomatoes, which can be acidic for some babies. So you can choose to omit these entirely, if trying for the first time. Or just add 1 of 2 tomatoes to reduce the ratio of tomatoes in the sauce.
As always, our paediatric dietician Bianca Parau advises that you try each ingredient separately, so there is no reaction to any of the ingredients, before offering this dish.
You can freeze this sauce for up to 3-months, I use multi portion trays to do this, and then defrost as needed
200g/ 1 small aubergine
200g/ 2 small courgette
125g/ 1 red pepper
2 tomatoes (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven)
Prep all the vegetables: wash, trim and cut into medium size dice. Add to a bowl and toss in the olive oil
Next take a large lined baking sheet and spread the vegetables evenly across the tray, trying to space the vegetables out. Cover in foil: this will stop the vegetables browning and to help them soften
Cook in the oven for 25 minutes until tender and completely cooked through
Remove from the oven and blend with a stick blender, adding a few tablespoons of boiled water to achieve a consistency you like.
For babies I serve with cooked baby pasta or baby couscous, as pictured. ( Follow all age guidelines, when adding baby pasta and baby couscous)
