Asparagus Puree
This one-ingredient 10-minute asparagus puree is easy to make and introduces a fun new flavour to your baby. It’s so important to try out plenty of new flavours, and particularly to favour vegetables and more bitter flavours with babies, and this one fits the bill perfectly!
Ok, bear with me! This may sound weird, but you should see my 6-month-old go totally nuts for this!
We love asparagus in our house. Steamed or griddled asparagus on toast topped with a poached egg and grated Parmesan is a weekly staple on our meal plan in the spring. We pine for it in the winter, longing for it to get to April again so that we can have more. This and pizza are probably my husband’s most frequent requests for inclusion on the meal plan.
As a result, I was keen for my son to like the flavour, and since he is an oddball of a boy whose favourite food so far is spinach and who turns down berries and bananas in favour of broccoli and cauliflower, I figured it was worth a shot. So I made some extra when we had it for dinner one day and pureed it for him.
I’ve never seen a baby put away quite so much food in one sitting. After he had got through 2 weaning pots full to the brim of it, I had to switch to courgette puree as he had polished off all I had made for him!
This was a good reminder to me not to make assumptions about what my kids may or may not like. It’s always worth trying – often multiple times – because you just never know! My kids have often surprised me with their likes and dislikes.
Get siblings involved by getting them to:
- snap the ends of the asparagus off
- press the blender button to puree
- … and spark an early interest in cooking for your baby by popping them in their high chair or in a safe spot on the floor in the kitchen with you and giving them spoons, pots, plastic bowls and other non-breakable safe items they can explore (try giving them one of the softened asparagus spears when cool before blitzing to see if they will have a munch or at least a play while they wait!)
1 ingredient and 10 minutes gets you a small batch of a fun new flavour food to try out with your baby. It's so important to try new flavours at this age, particularly vegetables and bitter flavours, so this is perfect for weaning.
- 1 bunch asparagus, chopped into thirds (woody stems removed - just snap them where they naturally snap and discard the hard woody stems then chop the tops into 2-3 pieces)
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Boil asparagus for about 5 mins until soft, or steam for 10 mins.
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Blend, adding a little of the water it was cooked in (or over) if needed, until it is a smooth consistency. (If they are a bit older, why not do this baby-led weaning style and skip the blending - just cook until soft and let them pick it up and eat it, as asparagus spears are a fun shape for eating!)
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Serve warm or cold, or freeze in weaning pots for a later date (will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and in the freezer for 3 months).
Need more fun simple recipes for babies & toddlers? Follow the system in this recipe with any vegetable (cooking times will vary slightly) for early single-ingredient weaning, and when they are old enough to start eating some of the softer foods the whole family eat, try our baby & toddler friendly recipes here.
