Turkey and Charred Vegetable Ragu Pasta Bake

This is another super simple pasta bake recipe perfect for a quick mid-week meal - ideal for working parents or those who's little ones have gone back to school this week. 

For me this is a cheat pasta sauce too - I was making my Thomasina  Mier's Fruity Chilli for me and Glen this evening, which is a little too spicy for the girls, and basically made extra for the basis of the sauce which is a load of charred vegetables - tomatoes, onion, peppers and garlic blitzed to a fine sauce and added a little here and there to jazz it up. It went down an absolute treat with both of my girls this evening. We've started having turkey mince a lot too instead of our usual steak or pork, as it's leaner, cheaper and we genuinely like the taste, 

I added a carrot into the blitzing stage of the sauce too, which will add a little sweetness and a little extra vegetable too which is completely disguised! It's a great toddler meal but also good for the weaning stage - you could of course blitz it up or if you're following the baby led weaning route, it's a great finger food as the fusilli is easy to hold, and just spoon-feed or offer loaded spoons with the remaining meat and sauce mixture.

Turkey and Charred Vegetable Ragu Pasta Bake

The below is enough for 3 toddler meals.

Here's how:

• 60g turkey mince
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 red or green pepper
• 1 carrot
• Drizzle olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 close cup mushrooms
• 75g fusilli 
• Little grating of hard cheese such as Cheddar

Firstly switch the oven onto 200 degrees, and cut the tomatoes and pepper in half, and peel and quarter the onion, and peel the garlic. Drizzle over a little olive oil, and scatter over some dried oregano.Place all into a baking tray or dish and into the oven for 20 minutes or until nicely charred on the outside, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Now cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, and drain and set aside.

In the meantime, drizzle the olive oil into a pan, and place on a medium heat. Cook the turkey mince in the oil, and season with black pepper. Use a wooden spatula to turn the mince over and cook all over.

Finely chop the mushroom at this stage - my Bridget 'doesn't like mushrooms' when she can see them, but miraculously eats them all up when they're not visible. 

Now place the charred vegetables into a blender or a Nutribullet  alongside the peeled carrot and blitz - depending on your blender you may need to chop or grate your carrot, I just threw mine into the Nutribullet. Pour this sauce over the turkey mince and add the water, cinnamon and a little more oregano. Allow to cook for twenty minutes on a medium heat to allow the spice to cook out.

Now add the pasta to the sauce mixture and stir well to ensure all is evenly coated. Pour the pasta into an ovenproof dish and scatter over the cheese before placing into the hot oven. Allow to cook for twenty minutes until the cheese is melted and there is a golden brown colour. Enjoy!

Cod in a Mediterranean Tomato and Garlic Sauce

In a bid to shed some remaining baby weight, I have been trying to limit some of my carbohydrate intake and devised this lovely dish as a summery evening meal. My other half Glen, and my eldest, Bridget had the same with some crusty fresh bread to dip into the sauce.

You could use any white fish, such as haddock or coley, but I had some cod in the freezer and this worked perfectly. 

Equally, if you're trying to disguise some extra vegetables for your little ones, a tomato based sauce is an easy way of doing so - grate in some carrot, and the other vegetables below can be grated in too if it helps get more down them. Luckily Bridget is past her recent fussy phase - for now at least! If you're serving this to under 1's then please remember to omit from adding the salt - and it may be worth doing a separate batch without the olives - as these can be quite salty too.

This is a really quick and easy meal so is perfect for midweek when the pressures of work, school and extra curricular activities may take the brunt of your energy - it can be prepared in ten minutes, and on the table in 30. I served with some steamed sprouting broccoli topped with a little shaving of Parmesan. 

Cod in a Mediterranean Tomato and Garlic Sauce

The below serves 3

Here's how:

• 3 fillets of cod or other white fish
• 1 white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 sticks celery
• 2 large tomatoes
• Handful fresh green olives
• Jar passata
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• Pinch sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Add the olive oil to a heavy bottomed pan and place on a low heat. 

Peel and dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the pan to saute.

Finely slice the celery and add to the pan. 

Dice the tomatoes, and once the onion, garlic and celery has softened add the tomatoes and olives to the pan and cook for five minutes. Add the paprika, oregano and seasonings to the pan and pour over the passata, stir well and cook for 25 minutes. 

Cut the raw cod into bite sized chunks and add to the pan for the last ten minutes of cooking. Stir with a wooden spoon to ensure each piece of cod is immersed in the sauce and allows for thorough cooking. 

Prepare the green vegetables and any other accompaniments of your choice and ladle the dish into bowls. Enjoy!

Turkey and Hidden Vegetable Bolognese

Like most parents I speak to, we sometimes have a hard time encouraging Bridget to eat her vegetables. Gone is the foodie baby that barely turned her nose up at anything, and in her place is an opinionated, strong-willed, almost three-year old young lady who refuses point blank to eat carrots. Except of course when Mummy has cleverly disguised them in a number of different ways. Pasta sauces are the easiest, as the carrot can simply be grated into the sauce and this turkey Bolognese has become a family favourite over the past few months.

I've been favouring turkey over my usual steak or pork mince as it's got a much lower fat and calorie content, which has been key in me still having delicious, homemade food, but with tweaks, such as these to slowly but surely reduce the baby weight gain!

This is a fantastic, cheap and healthy family meal that freezes well too. I have been enjoying this alone or with some courgette but I serve with pasta for Glen and Bridget - I'm sure it won't be too long till Beatrice enjoys some Bolognese too.

I very finely chop or dice the rest of the vegetables so they aren't detected by Bridget and have done the same for friends' children too - one of which is almost a teenager and has no idea so this is a parenting trick I'm sure I'll be using for years to come.

Turkey and Hidden Vegetable Bolognese

 

Here's how:

• 1 white onion
• 450g turkey mince (I prefer thigh as it's less dry but breast is fine too)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 sticks celery
• 1 courgette
• 2 carrots
• 2 tomatoes
• Handful mushrooms
• 1 jar or carton passata
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Black pepper
• Salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Glug of good olive oil

Firstly pour the olive oil into a non-stick pan and place onto a low heat. Really finely dice the onion and mince the garlic and place into the pan. Once softened add the turkey mince and slowly brown, using a wooden spatula to break up as you cook and avoid it all sticking together in one big lump.

Add the cinnamon, black pepper and salt to taste.

Finely dice the celery and roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the mince mix.

Peel and grate or very finely dice the carrot and add to the mix.

Finely dice the courgette and slice the mushroom (or if also hiding that, dice too) and add to the mince with the passata, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, red wine and tomato puree.

Finally make up the chicken stock and add to the Bolognese. Stir thoroughly and keep on a low heat to cook through for as long as you can. An hour to two hours makes for a really richly intense flavour, but if you are short on time, 30 minutes will do it. Taste during cooking and add additional seasoning if need be.

Serve alone, or with some pasta of your choice and a little Parmigianna or other hard cheese of your choice. Enjoy!