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
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºC/gas 5.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
