Spaghetti Bolognese has always been a favourite of the boys and so it was only natural for Ava to try it when weaning. The thing that I love about it is that you can change it up for their different stages of development. To start with I cooked the mince meat in chunks big enough so that her little hands could grip it in a fist. Once she moved on to pincer grip I made the lumps a bit smaller. Now at over one she can pick up even the tiniest bit of mince. The same with the pasta. I started with fusilli as it’s easy to get a good grip on and long enough to poke out of the top of her fist. I now either cook it with fusilli or tagliatelle which is good as the mince tends to stick to the ribbons. We have also tried bow pasta and normal spaghetti all of which she can manage. Ava has allergies so I can make this meal allergy friendly for her and cook a bigger batch and freeze in smaller portions so that she can have it if the boys meal isn’t suitable. It’s also really easy to take out and about with us using her Vital Baby on the go weaning set.
Over the years I have fiddled about with the recipe for spaghetti Bolognese. When I’m cooking it for adults I will also add in a bit of cayenne pepper.
- 500g mince meat
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- frozen sweetcorn
- peppers cut in to strips
- carrots sliced
- sprinkle of season all
- 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Pasta of your choice
- Start to cook the mince in a pan, we tend to not add oil.
- Prepare the peppers and carrots
- Add the vegetables to the mince along with the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.
- Boil the kettle
- Add the season all and Worcestershire sauce.
- Place boiling water in the pan and add pasta.
- Once all cooked drain the pasta and serve with the Bolognese on top.