Pesto for babies, a perfect version to accompany your favorite pasta

Who doesn’t love pesto? Well, babies love it too! I tell you how to make it super green, soft to digest and adapted for the whole family. If your baby is under 1 year old, it is not recommended to give him cow’s milk derivatives, such as Parmesan cheese, but there is no problem, because they can first separate the baby’s portion and then add the inevitable Parmesan to his sauce.

I share with you this rich and healthy version of pesto adapted for families with babies, where I add squash to the sauce to make it softer and add vegetables. I blanch the basil and garlic, so everything is easy for the baby to digest. The idea is to make a single recipe for everyone. Normally we accompany it with Milanese, this other recipe is pending.

Ingredients:

• 500g angel hair (easier for babies to eat)
• 2 small bunches of basil (130 g approx.)
• 4 cup of Italian squash cut into cubes or green beans
• 60g parmesan cheese
• 6 walnuts
• 2 cored garlic cloves blanched
• 3 tbsp. of olive oil approximately
• 3/4 cup of water where the basil was blanched
• 1 cup of water where the pasta was cooked
• A pinch of salt for the water where the basil is blanched

preparation:

Remove and wash the basil. Then blanch it in boiling water with a pinch of salt for a few seconds, remove it with the help of a slotted spoon and place it immediately in a container with ice cold water to stop cooking. This will make the pesto a nice green color. Reserve a little of the water where the basil was blanched, to use it in the sauce. Drain the basil. In the same pot with boiling water, cook the Italian zucchini, washed and cut into cubes, with skin, for approximately 5 to 7 minutes, and the cored garlic cloves for a minute, remove both. Place the Italian squash, basil, garlic, cooking water from the vegetables, olive oil, walnuts, Parmesan (if the baby is older than 1 year, otherwise skip the cheese) in a processor or blender. ) and blend. Place the sauce in a pot while we cook the pasta al dente. Add the ready pasta to the pesto pot and a tablespoon of the pasta cooking water or two, depending on how much you need. This water has starch from the pasta and will help make the sauce creamy. Serve and enjoy with a little Parmesan cheese on top.

Note: the Peruvian green sauce also has milk and fresh cheese, if your baby is over 1 year old and it provokes you, you can change the basil cooking water for milk to liquefy the sauce and the Parmesan cheese for fresh and a little bit of Parmesan for the end.

Eye: each time you give your baby a new food or food group, such as nuts, give him a small portion, plain, so you can catch any reactions

For more recipes for children and family follow me every Monday on Provecho.

darlings,

Colette Olaechea