12–18 months
Cauliflower pasta
Main mealPrep 12 minCook 22 minPortions: 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup of small tube pasta made from durum wheat
- 2 cups of cauliflower florets
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted pasteurised curd cheese
- Cooking water
Method
- Break the cauliflower into florets and leave out the firm core.
- Cook the pasta with no salt added, a few minutes longer than the packet time, adding the cauliflower for the last 8 minutes.
- Squash a piece of pasta with your finger; if it does not fall apart easily, cook it longer.
- Drain, keeping a few spoonfuls of the cooking water, and chop the pasta into small pieces with a knife.
- Fork-mash the cauliflower, stir in the curd cheese and the reserved water, and serve once warm.
Texture
Very soft pasta chopped small with mashed cauliflower, and no slippery whole tubes left.
Serving
Serve warm and let your child try eating it with a fork. Do not stir the curd cheese into piping-hot pasta.
Preparing for choking safety
Pasta is made from durum wheat and a firm, slippery piece is a risk, so it is cooked long and chopped small. The firm cauliflower core is not used. No jarred sauce and no stock cube is used.
Key nutrients
ProteinCalciumIodineVitamin B12
Storage
Cool within 1 to 2 hours of cooking, then refrigerate or freeze in small portions. Use a refrigerated portion within 2 days. Eat a defrosted portion within 24 hours. When reheating, heat until steaming hot all the way through, then let it cool before serving, and reheat any portion only once. Throw away a half-eaten portion rather than storing or reheating it.
Safety
Your child should be sitting upright and someone should stay with them while they eat. No salt or sugar is added to these recipes; honey is not given before one year. Their back teeth may not be through yet, so every piece must be soft enough to squash with gums and cut to a safe size. Children do not all manage the same texture at the same age — follow your child's pace rather than pushing. If your child has an allergy, eczema, or a family history of allergy, talk to your GP or health visitor before introducing new foods. Introduce foods that can trigger an allergic reaction one at a time and in small amounts, so you can spot any reaction.
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Recipes are a suggestion; they do not replace breast milk, formula, or your child's own feeding plan. If there is an allergy or a specific dietary situation, speak with a health professional.