Cream of rice in vegetable broth (crema di riso)

Step 1: Put 1 carrot, 1 potato and ½ courgette in a pan with 3 cups water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently, half-covered, for 35 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft and the broth is pale gold. Add no salt or stock cube.

Step 2: Strain the broth, keeping the vegetables. You should have about 500 ml.

Step 3: Measure 150 ml of hot broth into a small pan and sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of 3 tbsp fine rice flour (crema di riso), whisking all the time so it doesn't clump.

Step 4: Cook on a low heat, stirring, for 4–5 minutes, until it thickens to a smooth, soft cream and no longer tastes floury. A common mistake is tipping all the flour in at once, which gives lumps; sprinkle it slowly.

Step 5: Stir in a third of 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil and cool until just warm. As your baby gets used to it, mash in a spoonful of the cooked vegetables.

Step 6: Cool the remaining broth and vegetables quickly; refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze in ice-cube trays. Make the pappa fresh each time and reheat any broth only once, until piping hot, then cool before serving.