Beef Cannelloni for Baby [10m+], Toddler & Family

Yummy! What a hit with toddler J!   It’s very easy to make and you can add loads of different types of vegetables. It’s like lasagne but filled the ragu in cannelloni tubes. 🙂

I froze the left over and reheated for toddler J a different day. Do you agree with me that sometimes reheated frozen food taste so much better?  😄

Mum Tip: No salt for babies under 12 months old and very little the thereafter.

Served 2 adults and 2 toddlers

Ingredients for the Ragu

• 500 ground / minced beef (optional – go for lean & organic)
• 4 medium carrots (peeled & diced)
• 2 large red onion (diced)
• 2 cans (400gr / can) organic chopped tomatoes
• 3 large garlic cloves (crushed)
• 2 tbsp concentrared tomato paste
• 3 tbsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp himalayian salt (add more if required)
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

Ingredients for the Bechamel Sauce

• 1 1/2  cup semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• a pinch of himalayian salt
• some ground pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder

Other Ingredients

• 20 cannelloni tubes
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I mixed parmesam & mature cheddar)

Method

1. Fry onion and carrots in olive oil together until onion is golden brown. Add ground beef, garlic, salt, tomato paste, paprika and cumin powder.
2. Fry until the meat is cooked, then add tomatoes, water and cover with a lid. Let it cooked in low heat for 30-40 minutes. (I cooked my one in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes and he meat came out so soft!)
3. Check it every now and then, add more water if required. You want the sauce to be more liquid like rather than thick.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius.
5. Heat up the milk with flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg powder. Keep stiring to avoid the milk sticking to the pot. The milk should have thickened up after a few minutes, add parmesan cheese and stir until it has melted.
6. Add very little ragu on the tray first to avoid cannelloni from sticking, fill each tube with ragu and repeat until you have covered the whole tray.
7. Cover the cannelloni with ragu completely, a layer of bechamel sauce and finish off with grated cheese at the end.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and the cannelloni is soft. Let it cool down slighly for 10 minutes before serving.
9. Suitable for freezing.