I roasted some sweet potatoes, carrots, peppers and courgettes this weekend to add to Joshua’s meals over next few days.
Roast veg is a great option for BLW as the vegetables are a lovely soft texture for little gummy mouths to chew but also hold their shape well for little hands to hold. They also store well in the fridge for days. I've tried different techniques over the last few months so thought I'd share some tips I've picked up along the way... 📌Size matters!! Bigger is better!!🍆😳 📏Vegetables shrink when roasted. 📐Small, finger-sized pieces of veg in particular tend to dry out and get tough and crispy. 💡The solution... Cut your pieces of veg much bigger than you need to. Once cooked you can then slice them into finger size strips or to whatever size and shape you want. 📌Pre-cooking 🥔🍠🥕Par boil or steam root vegetables like potatoes and carrots before roasting. This will ensure that they are soft in the middle and will mean you don't have to roast them for too long, which can make them hard and crispy. 🌶🍆There is no need to precook non-root veg like peppers (capsicum), courgettes (zucchini) or aubergines (eggplant) 📌Skin 🍆🥒Vegetables like courgettes and aubergine (zucchini and eggplant) can go quite soft and soggy when roasted. The skin helps them hold their shape. When cutting them prior to roasting, and when slicing into fingers after roasting, make sure each piece still has some skin on. 🌶If you want to remove the skin on capsicum peppers then, immediately after roasting, put your peppers into a Tupperware pot or a bowl under clingfilm until cool. The trapped steam will loosen their skin making it easier to remove. 📌Up the flavour ante 🍴Roasting brings out the natural sweetness of vegetables. You can also introduce your little one to new flavours by adding herbs, spices and other flavours. Great additions include: 🥔Rosemary with (white) potatoes 🍠Paprika with sweet potatoes 🥕Dried cumin or a splash of orange juice with carrots 🍆Basil or oregano with aubergines
Enjoy x
