After the excesses of the festive season, I always fancy eating really healthy. However food is such an important thing for me that I am not ready to compromise on taste! I have never managed to follow any of these “I-don’t-eat-tasting-things” fad diet and it is not going to start now :-) 

This green beans purée is a great alternative to the British minted pea purée. It is a great side dish that I love serving with fish. I discovered it during my boys weaning journey but my husband and I have come to love it as an adult dish too!

For baby weaning, an idea could be to make a batch of plain green beans purée, to divide it up in  four small containers to get one with plain purée, one purée with basil, one purée with olive oil and one purée with basil and olive oil.   

Green beans puree with basil and olive oil SQ

Green beans purée with basil and olive oil

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: French
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 people

This green beans purée is a great alternative to the British minted pea purée.

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Ingredients

  • 500 g green beans I generally use frozen ones- so convenient + you get a smoother texture- but you can go for fresh when they are in season
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 4 basil leaves

Instructions

  1. Clean and snap the green beans if you are using fresh ones.
  2. Put the green beans in a saucepan and pour water on top until it covers half of the green beans.
  3. Bring to a boil and leave it to cook for 10 minutes without covering.
  4. There should only be a little water left at the end of the 10 minutes (2 tablespoons) but if there is more drain the green beans reserving the cooking water.
  5. Use a blender/food processor to puree the green beans, adding the basil leaves and olive oil and using the cooking water to get the consistency you want.

Recipe Notes

You can swap half the green beans by peas, it is delicious and creates an even smoother texture.

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from my favourite baby weaning recipe book: Mon livre de recettes pour bébé, by Jenny Carenco. Yes it is a French book but there is an English version :-): Bébé Gourmet: My Baby Recipe Book – 100 easy recipes for raising adventurous eaters, by Jenny Carenco. 

Bon appétit!