Recipes

• 1 kg chat potatoes (or as many or few as you like)
• 1 tablespoon nigella seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Salt & pepper
• parsley leaves to serve; roughly chopped

• Wash the potatoes well because we are leaving the skin on. Chop in half and add to a pot of salted water and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.
• While the potatoes are cooking, add the spices to a mortar and pestle and bash/grind until ground.
• Add 1 tablespoons oil to a frying pan over high heat and add the potatoes. Give the pan a toss so the potatoes are evenly browned. Once golden add a tablespoon of the spice mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, serve warm garnished with parsley.

• 500 ml (2 cups) milk
• 1/4 cup of brown rice (you could also use white but brown is more nutritious)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or you could use extract)
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• Honey or maple syrup to drizzle – suitable for babies 12 months plus

• Combine milk, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon stick and rice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid; lower temperature and simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half. (brown rice will take quite a bit longer than white rice).
• It is ready when most of the liquid has been absorbed, keeping in mind it will thicken up quite a lot once cool. Serve warm or cold on it own, or drizzle with honey and top with fresh fruit

To sweeten naturally try adding a mashed banana once cooked and cooled
For little babies, add to a blender and puree until smooth. Try adding a date when pureeing for another flavour with added natural sweetener

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Pastry resting time 30 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

For the ricotta pastry

• 200 grams (7oz) butter softened (not melted)
• 300 grams (10 1/2oz) ricotta
• 300 grams (2 x 250ml cups) plain all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt

For the parsley and pine nut filling

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup parsley (loosely packed) finely chopped
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (loosely packed) finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 10 approx baby (cherry) bocconcini torn

• Add the butter and ricotta to a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Tip out onto a bench and knead together with your hands until the mixture comes together into a soft ball of pastry. (If not wanting to do it by hand, I have made this recipe in my Kitchenaid with a dough hook attached, it works out perfectly)Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Make the filling below while you wait.
• Pre-heat oven to 180 C/350 F.  Roll out pastry with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, to a thickness of about 3mm, and cut into 10cm (4inch) squares.
• Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle of each square and a couple of piece of the torn bocconcini.  Pinch the opposite ends together with a little water.
• Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm

For the filling

• Dry fry the pine nuts in a frying pan until golden brown.
• Combine the remaining ingredients (excluding the bocconcini) and stir to combine.  Add the pine nuts while still hot and mix to combine. 

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• sesame seeds to garnish

Dipping Sauce

• juice of half a lemon
• 2 teaspoons of maple syrup

• Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Peal then slice sweet potato into thin wedges; add to a roasting pan big enough so the slices are in a single layer. Toss with olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes. (The time really depends on how thickly you have made the slices so check them often)
• For the dipping sauce, place ingredients into a small saucepan and heat to dissolve the maple. Once the wedges are golden, drizzle with the syrup (reserving some for your little ones to dip into) and garnish with sesame seeds

If you don’t fancy the charred bits on the ends – slice them more like a chip shape 🙂

• 400 g sugar plums (or other type of plum), halved and pitted
• 100 g coconut sugar
• 50 ml red wine vinegar
• 100 ml red wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 each star anise and cinnamon quills
• 1 vanilla bean , split, seeds scraped (alternatively use vanilla bean paste)
• Zest of 1/2 lemon

• Combine sugar, vinegar, wine, water, spices, vanilla and zest in a pan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then simmer until reduced by half. Add plums; cover with a lid and cook over very low heat for about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer plums to a bowl. Return pan to medium heat and simmer for 5 or so minutes until the mixture is syrupy. Add syrup to plums, cover and refrigerate until chilled and ready to serve

• Pumpkin – a small wedge
• Kale – a handful of torn leaves
• 2 tbls cream
• parmesan

• Slice the pumpkin into thin slices and steam until cooked
• Blanch the kale leaves in boiling water until tender; then chop according to your babies chewing ability
• Layer cooked pumpkin and kale into dish
• Drizzle with the cream and top with grated parmesan
• Place under the grill until nice and golden

If making for younger babies. Blend pumpkin,Kale and cream in a blender until you have a smooth puree. Add to dish; top with grated parmesan and grill until goldenWill keep in freezer for 3 months

If making for the entire family use approximately a 1/4 of a medium sized pumpkin

• 300 – 400 grams chicken thighs (about 4 thighs)
• 2 medium onions; finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 4 tablespoons soy
• 4 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 5 eggs; light beaten
• Spring onion; finely chopped on the diagonal
• pickled ginger to serve
• Boiled rice to serve

• Heat half the oil in a frying pan over high heat and cook the chicken until golden and cooked through. Set aside. Add the additional oil and the sliced onions; cook over low heat until tender but not browned. Add the soy, water, and mirin and bring to the boil. Return the chicken to the pan.
• Lower heat to low and pour in the eggs. Using a wooden spoon, stir it around once to distribute the mixture a little. Cover and cook for 5 or so minutes, or until the egg is set.
• Add rice to bowl and top with the chicken. Garnish with spring onion and pickled ginger.

• 2 fresh medium-sized beetroot
• 2 sheets of puff pastry
• 2 1/2 tablespoon of pesto (see previous post for the recipe. Alternatively buy store bought pesto)
• 125 g goats cheese
• Honey or maple syrup to drizzle

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees (375 degrees F). Remove leaves and stalks from beetroot and give them a scrub. Wrap individually in foil with a little water and bake for about 50 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool; peel and cut into thin slices.
• Using a round cutter cut circles from the puff pastry and place on a baking sheet lined with grease proof paper. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, then using the back of a spoon make a little indent in the pastry for the goats cheese filling. Combine the goats cheese and pesto; add a little more pesto until it is to your liking. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling on to the pastry shell and place a slice of beetroot on top. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the pastry shell is nice and golden. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey and serve

Makes 18 individual mini tarts
Suitable for toddler 12 months plus because of the honey

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic; crushed
• 1 onion; finely sliced
• 2 stalks celery; chopped
• 2 carrots; chopped
• 1 big bunch of silverbeet; finely sliced
• 400 g tin whole tomatoes
• 1 litre stock (good quality veggie stock, chicken, beef or whatever you like)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes *or adjust to your liking
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 400 g tin cannellini bean
• 1 loaf of country style white bread; cut into chunks
• parsley for serving

• Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic. Add the carrot and celery and continue cooking until softened. Add the silverbeet and cook until starting to wilt. Add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, chilli and salt. Bring to the boil and then cover and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Add the beans and allow to cook for an additional few minutes.
• Add the crusty bead to an oven tray and bake until golden and crispy
• To serve, ladle the soup bowls, add some bread and then another ladle of soup. Garnish with parsley and serve

Serves 6 as a mainIf also preparing for baby, take a few portions for baby before adding the salt. Puree or mash to suit age and chewing abilities.

Add 2 tins of beans if you like

This recipe is adapted from Movida restaurant in Melbourne and it is so good!  It would make an impressive side dish, light lunch, or even main course.  The rich flavours are balanced beautifully by the sharpness of the quince and although it does take a little time to prepare, I promise it will be worth … Continue reading Quince, pumpkin, eggplant and quinoa salad