Family Food: Courgette Polpette
This recipe is taken from River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook which is a great book for feeding the whole family. Its got lots of Baby Led Weaning friendly foods as well as delicious dishes for bigger kids and adults.
Freezer-friendly: freeze the uncooked polpette. Defrost before baking.
For babies: these make nice finger food and will introduce your baby to lots of different flavours.
For grown-ups and older children: try adding a few toasted pine nuts to the mix.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp rapeseed
- 500g courgette, finely diced
- grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 generous tbsp grated parmesan, pecorino or other well-flavoured hard cheese
- 1/2 ball of buffalo mozzarella (60-70g), diced
- 50g breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- freshly ground black pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200C. Oil a baking tray or line with a non-stick silicone liner.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the courgette for about 10 minutes, until tender and golden. Set aside to cool a little, then combine them with all the other ingredients to make a thick, sticky mixture. Season if you like (but remember that the cheeses already contain salt).
- Take walnut-sized blobs of the mixture and roll into balls. Place on the baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden.
- Serve hot, warm or cold, on their own or with pita bread and a tomato salad or sauce. Ideal for picnics and babies on the move!
- Makes about 12 polpette.