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 Like
most busy mothers, Sian
Blunos wanted to feed her baby well, but
as a trained chef, working alongside her Michelin-starred
chef husband, she didn’t have a lot of free time.
This is one of the recipes she has created and
published in her book entitled Cooking
for Coco - to find out more have a look
at the articler under Interesting Bites <click
here>
"Non-meat
and vegetable dishes alone can provide your child
with a varied and nutritious diet . . . they make
good use of available seasonal produce. This winter
recipe uses naturally sweet swede and turnip,
which is a great source of energy ".
Ingredients
1/2
cup pearl barley
1 ounce butter
1 tablespoon oil
6 ounces leeks, washed and chopped
3 ounces swede, peeled and chopped
3 ounces turnips, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 pint unsalted vegetable stock or water
2 ounces frozen peas
Method
- In
a bowl, wash the pearl barley under cold running
water to get rid of any ‘grittiness’ from the
husks. Pour the barley into a saucepan and cover
with cold water. Bring the water to the boil
for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and empty
the water. Rinse the pearl barley in cold water
again and then strain. This will get rid of
some of the starch in the pearl barley.
- In
the meantime, melt butter and oil in a saucepan.
Add the leeks, swede and turnips and sweat for
about 2 minutes. Add the pearl barley and tomato
purée and just enough water or unsalted vegetable
stock to cover the vegetables. Bring to the
boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for
about 50 minutes. if required. The mixture needs
to have quite a thick consistency.
- Add
the peas, cover the saucepan and continue to
simmer until the pearl barley is very soft.
This should take about another 5 minutes, but
the older the pearl barley, the longer it takes
to soften.
- Strain
the vegetable and pearl barley mixture over
a bowl and reserve the liquid. Blend the mixture
in a food processor, adding more of the liquid
gradually to reach the correct texture. For
older babies, just mash the mixture.
- Leave
on the side to cool. Divide into portions and
serve or freeze.
Technique
Tip:
With
most of these recipes you can use a food processor
or blender to produce a puréed mixture. However,
if you are using potatoes, you should add them
as small dice just before serving. If they are
blended, the starch they contain causes them to
break down into a gluey mess.
As
your baby grows and has more teeth, you can mash
or chop the food instead. The textures will encourage
your baby to chew. You will be the best judge
of when you can start to do this.
Preparation
time: 1 hour
Makes 6 - 8 portions
Sian
Blunos
©
Cooking for Coco, Sian Blunos 2003
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