With butternut, pepper, peas, and pear for baby
Inspired by my wonderful sister-in-law Kat's fabulous culinary skills on our last visit to Cardiff, I decided to whip up a Shakshuka of my own. This is a traditional Middle Eastern / North African dish eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's typically made with lots of fresh seasonal veggies but can also work well with a rich flavoured sausage such as a Merguez, beef, or venison. Babies will love this fun bright green puree from 4 months + and the additional kick of harissa only gets added once the children have had their share so everyone’s happy!
Prep Time: 10 Mins | Cook Time 35 Mins
Serves 4
Ingredients
300g Butternut peeled and cut into wedges
200g Sweet potatoes peeled and cut into wedges
200g White potatoes washed and cut into wedges
Refined olive oil spray
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
Ground pepper
1/2 Pear peeled and sliced
1 tbsp Frozen peas
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 Red onion sliced into 16th's
1 Yellow pepper washed and sliced into segments
1 Orange pepper washed and sliced into segments
2 Tins of chopped or plumed tomatoes (cut the plum tomatoes into smaller pieces once in the pan if using these)
1 tsp Ground cumin
1 tbsp Fresh parsley chopped finely
1 tbsp Fresh coriander chopped finely
1 tsp Harissa Paste
4 Medium sized eggs
(For adaptations to the recipe see ‘Notes’ below)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/373F/Gas Mark 5.
For the baby's portion, place 2 segments of each type of potato along with 2 segments of the butternut onto a baking tray, spray a little oil over the veggies, mix to ensure they have a good covering and place in the oven to roast for 20 mins or until soft and cooked through.
Place the remaining potatoes and butternut onto another baking tray, spray with oil, dust with paprika and season sparingly with a little ground pepper, mix to ensure they have a good covering then place in the oven and roast for 15-20 mins or until beginning to soften and part-cooked.
Once cooked, remove the baby’s portion from the oven and spoon the veg into a blender jug along with the peas and pear. Add 25ml of sterilised water, blend on high for a few seconds until a paste is formed, if it’s too thick add another 25ml of sterilised water, re-blend and continue in this fashion until the right consistency for your baby is achieved. Allow to cool and serve to the baby.
Remove the remaining cooked veggies from the oven and spoon into a non-stick sauté pan along with the garlic, onion, tomatoes, peppers, remaining paprika, cumin, 3/4 of the fresh parsley and coriander over medium-high heat and combine.
Allow to bubble away for 8-10 mins, then once all the veg is cooked through, serve the child’s portion at this stage (unless they like a little spice, then move directly onto stage 7).
Reduce the heat to medium, add the harissa paste and combine well then make four little wells into the veg, crack an egg into each and allow to cook for 6-8minutes. If you prefer the yolk to be well done, spoon a little of the tomato sauce over each egg as they cook.
Garnish with the leftover parsley and coriander and serve along with some crusty bread to older children and adults alike, enjoy!
Notes
6 Months +
Babies can eat the Shakshuka (minus the spice) as early as 6 months. It is a dish rich in flavour but will help your little ones to broaden their palate from a young age. Simply follow the recipe to point 6 (omitting points 2 & 4) then spoon 2 tbsp of the dish into the blender jug, blend on high for a few seconds until a paste is formed. If it’s too thick, add another 25ml of sterilised water, re-blend and continue in this fashion until the right consistency for your baby is achieved. Allow to cool and serve to the baby.
NUTRITIONAL NOTES
By Judith Calvin from www.healthisgoodfood.com
This is a great first food for a baby which contains brightly coloured root vegetables to provide a good source of carbohydrates for energy and fibre for a developing gut and microbiome. The orange colour of the butternut squash and sweet potato provides an excellent source of Beta Carotene. Beta Carotene changes to retinol (vitamin A) in the body. Vitamin A helps the immune system work properly, promotes vision in dim light and keeps skin and the lining of the nose healthy. All important things for a developing baby.
The peas in this dish are a superfood for a baby because of their protein and iron content, all important nutrients for a baby at the age of starting solids. At around 6 months a baby's iron stores, which they get from their Mum during pregnancy, start to diminish. Breast milk and formula are typically low in iron so iron is needed from food. Peas also provide an excellent source of B vitamins in particular folate (B9) and Thiamin (B1). Both help to build and repair a healthy nervous system.
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