Yummy pasta for baby

We didn't have the luxury of time to cook all of Kai's meals when he was a baby. I was working fulltime then, so Kai's weekend diet consisted mostly of bottled baby food. (Thankfully he had homecooked porridge during weekdays as my MIL took care of him while we worked.)

But since I am now a SAHM, I have time to experiment with baby food and it's been pretty fun! It's also satisfying to see baby tuck in the food that I cook for him. Here's a recipe that's a favorite of Kit, and it's really easy to do. It's suitable for freezing too, so just cook up a batch over the weekend and you are all set to go for the week.

(Adapted from Marks & Spencer Baby & Toddler Meal Planner's Minestrone Soup recipe:)

Serves 4 portions
Age: The recipe is for 6-9 month old babies, according to the book, which means it'd be better to puree the final product. But Kit is eating this at 12 months, so I didn't puree or mash the final product.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 bay leaf
300 ml no salt vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
4 tbsp tomato puree
55 g small pasta shapes
25 g spinach, washed and thick stalks removed, finely chopped (I halved the amount as 25 g seemed too much and I wasn't sure if baby would like the taste.)
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Method:
Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and carrot and cook over medium-heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened.

Add the bay leaf, stock and puree, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, boil water in a separate pot and cook pasta until soft.

Once pasta is cooked, drain, and add to vegetable sauce. Mix well.

Add the spinach and cook for further 2 minutes or until the spinach is tender. Stir in the parmesan cheese.

If necessary, puree or mash the mixture.

Separate into 4 portions and freeze.