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Somehow a rich sauce and pasta seemed too heavy for a baby. All I could picture was one of the Sopranos slurping up spaghetti bolognese with noodles dripping all over. Then I remembered my love of tiny letter and number pasta as a kid. It was so much fun making out what all the symbols and shapes were in soup or sauce. Kenya’s still under 1 years old, but he loves everything in bolognese, so why not make a version that adults and kids will love?
While I was making it for him, our friend Dana, the chinese Doctor, was over and wanted to know if she could try it. “Delicious”, she exclaimed. Perfect, now I know what we’re having for dinner. Kenya’s unpureed sauce. Bon Appetito!
Baby Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons onion, diced (about 1/4 onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup ground meat (i used bison)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 16 ounce can chopped tomatoes
- 6 baby carrots, cut into thin coins
- 1 cup mini vegetable pasta, numbers and shapes
Instructions
- In a wide skillet, heat oil over medium flame.
- Saute onion for 3 minutes.
- Add garlic, meat and herbs. With a spoon breakup meat into smaller pieces.
- Saute for 6 minutes or until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the tomatoes and carrots.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue to simmer until desired thickness of sauce.*
- In a large pot bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
- Add pasta, return to a boil and cook for 9-11 minutes.
- Mix together the pasta and sauce.
- Serve.
- *Puree after step 7 if serving to a baby
- This is a thick sauce, so add more liquid if you want it thinner.
where did you find the mini vegetable (numbers and shapes) pasta?
This is delicious! I added some chopped baby spinach right at the end to get something green in my pickly LO.
Does this recipe freeze well? Thank you 🙂