The short version

  • A smooth tomato sauce with carrot, courgette, pepper and red lentils blended right in.
  • Mild and low in salt for little ones, easily lifted for the adults.
  • One sauce that works from the toddler chair to your own plate.

This is the workhorse sauce that feeds everyone at once, from the two-year-old who would happily eat pasta every night to the six-year-old who has opinions, to the two of you once they are in bed. The vegetables and lentils blend in completely, so it is smooth, mild and quietly nourishing, with no negotiation required.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 courgette, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 100g red lentils, rinsed
  • 2 tins (400g each) chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 300ml water or low-salt stock
  • A handful of basil, if you have it
  • Pasta, to serve
  • Grated cheese, to finish

Method

  1. Warm the oil in a large pan. Add the onion, carrot, courgette and pepper and cook gently for eight to ten minutes until softening.
  2. Stir in the garlic, then add the lentils, tomatoes, tomato puree and water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are completely soft.
  3. Blend until smooth with a stick blender, adding a splash more water if it is too thick. Stir the basil through.
  4. Toss with cooked pasta. Finish the little ones' bowls with a little cheese, and season your own to taste at the table.

It keeps happily in the fridge for three days and is, if anything, better the next day once the flavours have settled.

Bubba & Me tip

Keep the salt out while it cooks for the little ones, then let the adults season their own bowls at the table. A little grated cheese on top wins most toddlers over.

Family food rather than formal nutrition advice. For fussy eating, faltering weight or specific dietary needs, your health visitor or our registered nutritional therapists can help you find a calm way through.