Spring vegetables & slow cooked chicken recipe

This light, vibrant, spring vegetable and slow cooked chicken recipe is packed with a rainbow of different coloured vegetables including creamy leeks and sweet, nutty butternut squash.

There’s some brown rice for texture and it’s cooked with a drop of olive oil and fresh herbs such as tarragon and mint. A true Mediterranean taste explosion!

It’s suitable for babies from 6 months and makes enough for two parents and a baby (or eight baby portions). And it freezes really well if there’s any left over.

Ingredients

Glug of olive oil

1 medium onion peeled and finely chopped

1 leek, washed and chopped

1 garlic clove peeled and crushed

Pinch of dried marjoram

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped

200g butternut squash, peeled, de seeded and roughly chopped

2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts

400ml homemade or low salt vegetable stock (or just hot water if you don’t have the low salt stock)

1 strand of fresh tarragon chopped or ½ tsp dried tarragon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºC/gas 5.
2. Heat a lug of oil in a large casserole pan on a medium heat, then add the onion and leek and fry for five minutes until starting to go soft. Add the crushed garlic and the marjoram and stir, frying for a few more minutes.
3. While the onions are cooking peel and roughly chop the carrots, parsnip and butternut squash. Add these, and the chicken to the casserole pan and stir for a few minutes.
4. Add the hot water or vegetable stock and tarragon, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low. Crumple up and wet a piece of greaseproof paper, then open it out and place on top of the stew. Cover with a lid and pop in the oven for 1 hour, or until the chicken is super-tender.
5. When the chicken’s cooked, gently break the chicken up into the stew, and either take a little out and puree it or mash the vegetables and chicken with a fork, depending on stage of lumpiness your baby enjoys.

Tip: delicious served with broccoli, with cooked brown rice or even with fresh pasta stirred through.

Suitable for freezing

Preparation: 30 minutes

Cooking: 1hour 20 minutes