This recipe is unashamedly stolen from my sister. She is a really adventurous cook and makes most of her meals from scratch and whenever my kids go there they always get something yummy to eat. This week she made this delicious stew which was promptly wolfed down (including seconds) by Little Lady while her non adventurous brother would only eat a hummus sandwich. Of course I asked for the recipe and I was amazed by how easy and quick it was to make. It’s a really quick chicken and pesto stew which is full of vegetables and protein and, as it has potatoes, it doesn’t really need anything else (although Little Lady then had it again for lunch today and I added some extra couscous in with it).

NB: This recipe obviously contains pesto which may not be suitable for babies who haven’t tried nuts yet. Also shop bought pesto can be quite high in sodium. This recipe contains only a really tiny quantity of pesto but if you want to reduce the amount of sodium then you can make your own pesto and change the parmesan for cheddar or just leave out the cheese altogether.

350g boneless chicken thighs

1 medium onion

1 medium carrot

1 medium baking potato

Handful of frozen peas

1 teaspoon pesto

2 teaspoons cream cheese

1/2 clove garlic

1 tomato or 4 cherry tomatoes

Chop the chicken into very small pieces and brown them in some olive oil then leave on the side. Chop the onion very finely and also fry in the oil until golden. Crush the garlic and add to the onion for about 1 minute. Meanwhile peel and chop the carrot and potato into really small pieces and boil them in a pan of water until they are soft. Skin and finely chop the tomato and add to the onion and garlic and fry for few seconds. Add 50ml of the water that the carrot and potato were cooked in and stir well. Now add in the chicken and the frozen peas and another 50ml of the vegetable water. Add the pesto and cream cheese and stir for a few minutes until everything is mixed. Depending on your baby / child’s ability to eat lumps this can be eaten as is or can be pureed. It’s also great for adults or older children if you don’t cut the chicken and veg up so small.