Seasonal Spring Leek and Tomato Pasta
Simple, fast and baby friendly
Sometimes you just need a little push in the right direction for finding something fast and easy to prepare, especially when you have a little one who needs to eat as well as you!
This is a great spring recipe that takes 30min total to prepare and cook.
Ingredients
2tbls olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped really fine
1 medium onion, chopped small (I like red onions, but you could use whatever flavour
of onion you like best)
2 carrots, diced small
1 can chopped tomatoes
½ cup water
2tbls dried mixed herbs or a few handfuls of chopped fresh herbs
1tbls tomato paste
1 leek, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
100g spaghetti
Salt and pepper
Grated Cheese
Method
Cook the carrots until just starting to soften. Either steaming or boiling. This takes about 5min depending on how big you dice them.
At the same time, fry the garlic and onion in the oil until the onions start to become translucent. Add the can of chopped tomatoes, water and herbs. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down and allow to simmer with the lid on for 5min.
Put the spaghetti on to cook.
Add the leek, chopped tomatoes and semi cooked carrots to the tomato broth. Cook for a further 5min or until the leeks and carrots are cooked through. Season to taste and serve topped with grated cheese.
Notes
If cooking for baby,
- remember don’t add any salt until after you have dished for baby
- depending on where they are in the weaning process, cut/ break the food into bite sized portions or mash/puree everything together. I like to break the spaghetti into 1cm long pieces but that is the only change I make vs what I dish for myself.
Variations
- Using baby/cherry tomatoes instead of the fresh chopped tomatoes is also great. Just cut them in half before adding to the pot
- Courgette instead of leeks works really well and is sometimes more kid friendly depending on the child
- If cooking just for adults adding a bit of chilli and a dash of red wine is great for some variety
