12–18 months
Soft beef and courgette filling
Main mealPrep 14 minCook 32 minPortions: 3
Ingredients
- 100 g of lean minced beef
- 2 medium courgettes
- 3 tablespoons of rice
- Water
Method
- Peel the courgettes and cut them into small cubes.
- Cook the mince in unsalted water, breaking up the lumps, until no pink remains.
- Add the rinsed rice and the courgettes with enough water to cover.
- Simmer until the rice grains are completely soft and the courgette falls apart.
- Mash lightly with a fork; this recipe is served from a bowl as the filling, not stuffed into a vegetable.
Texture
Finely broken-up mince in soft rice and collapsed courgette, with no firm grain and no piece of skin left.
Serving
Serve warm. Do not leave cooked rice standing — its storage rules are stricter than the other recipes.
Preparing for choking safety
The courgette must be peeled — the skin leaves a slippery piece. Mince is never served in lumps and no firm grain of rice may remain. No stock cube is used.
Key nutrients
ProteinIronVitamin B12Zinc
Storage
Cooked rice has its own stricter rule: cool it within 1 hour, refrigerate it and eat it within 24 hours. Never reheat rice more than once; when you do reheat it, heat until steaming hot all the way through, then let it cool before serving. 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.
Collections this recipe appears in
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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.