I love making pesto. Although, with a bit of online research, the original method of making pesto involves pounding or crushing the leaves, I don't mind eating fast processed pesto. In fact, I like it better that way.
I make pesto in batches, and store it in the ref with an extra layer of olive oil on top. This gives me a stock of pesto sauce I can use anytime I want to glam up my meal.
When To Give To Baby
Standard pesto uses ground nuts, originally pine nuts but can locally be swapped for cashew nuts. Nuts are not recommended for babies below one year old, so if you include nuts in your recipe (or buy a store-bought brand), do not feed this to your baby until he is AT LEAST one year old.
However, if you are making your own pesto, you can remove the nuts from the recipe and still feed it to your less than a year old baby. Just make sure your parmesan cheese is pasteurized. Parmesan cheese is commonly pasteurized, so this is technically safe, but make sure to read the labels.
Cheese is usually not recommended until the baby is at least 8 months old, so pesto should only be served when your baby has hit that age.
How To Prepare It
Ingredients:
Citron Basil
Parsley
Ground nuts (I prefer pistachio, but cashew works just as well)
Ground Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil (I use extra light)
Tools:
Blender or a Chopper (one capable of mincing leafy vegetables)
Directions:
First, wash all the vegetables and let them dry.
Second, we make the pesto.
The objective is to blend all the ingredients together. I do a partial blend of the basil first with a bit of olive oil, then follow with the parsley, the nuts and the cheese. Every so often, I add a bit more olive oil to help the blending go smoother.
I also usually just guess the ratio between ingredients. But my common ratio is this:
0.12kg Basil to 0.06kg Parsley
I usually buy my veggies from Landmark-Trinoma, and their basil and parsley comes pre-packaged in 0.06kg bundles. So I usually buy 2 bundles of basil and 1 bundle of parsley
Nuts & Cheese
If both are already ground, around 3 tablespoons of each is enough for the batch of veggies above. However, you can change this if you prefer the taste to be nuttier, or cheesier, or if your package of veggies turns out to have less leaves than expected.
Everything else is done by estimation. :)
Alternatives:
You can replace citron basil & parsley with malunggay leaves. Malunggay is bitter, especially after being chopped, so I usually turn it into garlic malunggay pesto by adding garlic to the recipe.
Raw garlic might be too intense for your baby, though, so I suggest roasting or sauteing it first before adding it to your mix.
Some recipes still call for a portion of basil to the malunggay pesto to counter the bitter taste. It's all a matter of taste - you can balance out the bitterness with other flavors.
How To Serve
Pesto is commonly known as a pasta sauce. Simply mix it with freshly cooked pasta, like shells.
You can also use it as a bread dip or a sandwich spread.
I once added it to some Nestle All Purpose Cream, and made a creamy sauce out of it for steak.
Personally, I like having my pesto mixed in with freshly cooked white rice. That's my version of pesto rice! A lot of people I've told this to have been scandalized by the idea, but agree that it does taste good this way. Try it!
Are You Sure This Was Safe?
Pesto is composed of different ingredients. Because of that, you have to make sure your baby is ready to eat each of the ingredients noted in this list.
1. Nuts - only recommended for above 1 year old, to avoid development of nut allergies.
2. Cheese - only recommended for 8 months and above, and for babies without lactose intolerance
3. Basil/ Malunggay - only recommended for 8 months and above. There's talk about nitrates in dark leafy vegetables being bad for young babies, so it's best to avoid giving this too early.
As I mentioned in my previous entry, my main holy grail for information is the Wholesome Baby Food website. You can check this website out to see a list of food recommended for each age, and what the recommended method of preparation is. It is mostly based off american diets, though I did countercheck my facts against other websites and mom forums. If you are unsure, do not hesitate to ask your pediatrician! The doctor will be more familiar with your baby's development and can recommend if you can already give pesto to your little one.
I make pesto in batches, and store it in the ref with an extra layer of olive oil on top. This gives me a stock of pesto sauce I can use anytime I want to glam up my meal.
When To Give To Baby
Standard pesto uses ground nuts, originally pine nuts but can locally be swapped for cashew nuts. Nuts are not recommended for babies below one year old, so if you include nuts in your recipe (or buy a store-bought brand), do not feed this to your baby until he is AT LEAST one year old.
However, if you are making your own pesto, you can remove the nuts from the recipe and still feed it to your less than a year old baby. Just make sure your parmesan cheese is pasteurized. Parmesan cheese is commonly pasteurized, so this is technically safe, but make sure to read the labels.
Cheese is usually not recommended until the baby is at least 8 months old, so pesto should only be served when your baby has hit that age.
How To Prepare It
Ingredients:
Citron Basil
Parsley
Ground nuts (I prefer pistachio, but cashew works just as well)
Ground Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil (I use extra light)
Tools:
Blender or a Chopper (one capable of mincing leafy vegetables)
Directions:
First, wash all the vegetables and let them dry.
Second, we make the pesto.
The objective is to blend all the ingredients together. I do a partial blend of the basil first with a bit of olive oil, then follow with the parsley, the nuts and the cheese. Every so often, I add a bit more olive oil to help the blending go smoother.
I also usually just guess the ratio between ingredients. But my common ratio is this:
0.12kg Basil to 0.06kg Parsley
I usually buy my veggies from Landmark-Trinoma, and their basil and parsley comes pre-packaged in 0.06kg bundles. So I usually buy 2 bundles of basil and 1 bundle of parsley
Nuts & Cheese
If both are already ground, around 3 tablespoons of each is enough for the batch of veggies above. However, you can change this if you prefer the taste to be nuttier, or cheesier, or if your package of veggies turns out to have less leaves than expected.
Everything else is done by estimation. :)
Alternatives:
You can replace citron basil & parsley with malunggay leaves. Malunggay is bitter, especially after being chopped, so I usually turn it into garlic malunggay pesto by adding garlic to the recipe.
Raw garlic might be too intense for your baby, though, so I suggest roasting or sauteing it first before adding it to your mix.
Some recipes still call for a portion of basil to the malunggay pesto to counter the bitter taste. It's all a matter of taste - you can balance out the bitterness with other flavors.
How To Serve
Pesto is commonly known as a pasta sauce. Simply mix it with freshly cooked pasta, like shells.
You can also use it as a bread dip or a sandwich spread.
I once added it to some Nestle All Purpose Cream, and made a creamy sauce out of it for steak.
Personally, I like having my pesto mixed in with freshly cooked white rice. That's my version of pesto rice! A lot of people I've told this to have been scandalized by the idea, but agree that it does taste good this way. Try it!
Here's a bad close-up shot of Zensho's chicken pesto I took back in 2007, but it should give you an idea of what pesto should look like.
Are You Sure This Was Safe?
Pesto is composed of different ingredients. Because of that, you have to make sure your baby is ready to eat each of the ingredients noted in this list.
1. Nuts - only recommended for above 1 year old, to avoid development of nut allergies.
2. Cheese - only recommended for 8 months and above, and for babies without lactose intolerance
3. Basil/ Malunggay - only recommended for 8 months and above. There's talk about nitrates in dark leafy vegetables being bad for young babies, so it's best to avoid giving this too early.
As I mentioned in my previous entry, my main holy grail for information is the Wholesome Baby Food website. You can check this website out to see a list of food recommended for each age, and what the recommended method of preparation is. It is mostly based off american diets, though I did countercheck my facts against other websites and mom forums. If you are unsure, do not hesitate to ask your pediatrician! The doctor will be more familiar with your baby's development and can recommend if you can already give pesto to your little one.
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