This easybaby pasta sauce with lentils and vegetables is a simple pasta sauce that toddlers love too. Enjoy this tomato free sauce with your favourite pasta shapes.
1red onioncut into quarters then the layers of each quarter separated
1clovegarlicunpeeled
1zucchini/courgetteroughly sliced, 1 cm thick
1tablespoonextra virgin olive oil
65g(⅓ c)red lentils
375ml(1½ c)water
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F
Place the capsicum, onion, garlic, zucchini on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Season with pepper and salt (if giving to baby under 12 months don’t use salt.)
Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, until soft.
Put the red capsicum into a bowl and cover with cling film. When cool enough to handle, peel the skin away. Add these to the rest of the vegetables in a mixing bowl.
Meanwhile cook the lentils in the water until soft according to packet instructions (usually around 10-15 minutes). Drain any excess water then leave to cool.
Add the lentils to the cooled roast vegetables and blend with a hand blender, adding a little water if it’s too thick.
This is quite a thick pasta sauce - I like to make it a thick sauce, freeze it in portions, then heat and add water as needed as I heat it.
Notes
Red lentils – iron rich red lentils cook quicker than other types of lentils and break down easier, meaning they blend to a smoother sauce, ideal for babies.Vegetables – red pepper / capsicum not only add nutrients but also sweetness, and zucchini / courgette adds extra vitamins to the sauce as well as sweetness, with a mild flavour.Onion – red or brown onion.Olive oil – Extra virgin olive oil.Water – I personally like to use water in this pasta sauce for babies, as many store bought stocks are salty. You can use a homemade salt free stock or low sodium stock / broth diluted with water.This vegetable pasta sauce is made without salt on purpose. If you are not making this pasta sauce for babies, then add some salt whilst cooking, and/or use stock.If you don’t want to roast the vegetables, finely dice them all then cook the onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes until soft before adding crushed garlic, chopped red peppers, and chopped zucchini / courgette. Cook for 5-10 minutes over a low-medium heat.