Kinder Kitchen healthy kids recipe - easy vegetable stock

Basic vegetable (suitable for babies from four months plus)

This is my easy basic recipe for vegetable stock. Of course, you can add anything you wish to this including a number of fresh herbs such as thyme and parsley. It is a great way of using up vegetables that are going off and need using up. Instead of just using the stock liquid for sauces and stews, you could just get a hand blender and blend the ingredients once cooked into a delicious soup. A swirl of rapeseed oil before serving will give it a really nutty flavour.

Ingredients:
¼ medium swede
3 sticks of celery
3 carrots
1 onion
4 peppercorns (optional - for babies under 1 year it is best to leave these out)
2 bay leaves
1 litre water

Preparation:

1. Wash the carrots and sticks of celery and peel the swede then chop them all into equal pieces
2. Peel the onion and cut into quarters
3. Add the vegetables and all the other ingredients to a saucepan
4. Add 1 litre of water, cover and gently simmer for an hour
5. Sieve the stock into a container and refrigerate once cooled.

Serving suggestions:

Add other vegetable such as peas, broccoli, spinach to make a vegetable soup. Add the stock to sauces, rice dishes, curries and lentils.