AI-generated image
Papinha salgada (Brazilian savoury baby mash)
6m+ · Brazil's first lunch: potato, carrot and chayote mashed soft with unsalted bean broth
When Brazilian babies reach six months, the papinha salgada, or 'savoury little mash', becomes their main lunch, served at the same time the family eats rice and beans. Each vegetable is mashed separately with a fork rather than blended, so the baby learns their different colours and tastes, and the warm broth from the family's unseasoned bean pot is spooned over the top. It is soft, earthy and mild. It contains none of the common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish). Chef's tip: lift out a ladle of bean broth before you add salt, garlic or bacon to the family's pot.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Baby & toddler safety
- Age: from 6 months+.
- Allergens: none of the common allergens found in the ingredients. Offer one new allergen at a time, in the morning, so you can watch for a reaction.
- Texture and choking: purée or mash smoothly for 6–9 months, then soft, finger-sized pieces that squash between your fingers. Cut round foods such as grapes and cherry tomatoes into quarters lengthways, never give whole nuts, and always stay with your child while they eat.
- Under 1: no honey, no added salt or stock cubes, and no added sugar.
Every child is different. If you are unsure, especially about allergies, check with your health visitor or paediatrician.
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz potatoor cassava, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 ⅞ oz carrotpeeled and sliced
- 3 ½ oz chayotepeeled, seeded and cut into chunks
- ½ cup black bean cooking brothfrom unsalted cooked beans, plus a few cooked beans
- 1 tsp olive oil
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 2: Add 3 ½ oz chayote and cook for another 12–15 minutes, until a knife slides through every piece with no resistance. Drain, keeping a little of the cooking water.
14 minStep 3: Warm ½ cup black bean cooking broth in a small pan for 2–3 minutes. Press the few cooked beans in it through a sieve and stir the purée back into the broth; bean skins are too tough for six-month-olds.
3 minStep 4: Mash each vegetable separately with a fork until very soft, adding a spoonful of cooking water if dry. Keep them in little mounds on the plate. A common mistake is blending everything into one beige paste: separate mounds help your baby learn each flavour.
Step 5: Spoon the bean broth over the potato, drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and let it cool until just warm before serving.
Step 6: Cool any leftovers quickly, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze in portions. Reheat once until piping hot, stir well to remove hot spots, and cool before serving.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 70 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does papinha salgada (Brazilian savoury baby mash) take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of potato?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
PingadoHot milk with coffee
Order 'um pingado' at the balcão of any São Paulo padaria at 7 in the morning and the attendant pours hot milk into a ridged glass tumbler (the copo americano) and 'drips' in a splash of strong coffee, hence the name. It is milkier and gentler than a média (half coffee, half milk), creamy and lightly sweet, usually drunk standing up with a pão na chapa, a toasted buttered roll. At home you need strong filter coffee and milk heated until steaming. Scalding the milk is the frequent mistake, as boiled milk tastes flat and forms a skin. Chef's tip: froth the hot milk for a few seconds with a whisk or by pouring it back and forth between two jugs before adding the coffee, as padaria machines do.
TashmijabiMashed potatoes with stretchy cheese
Potatoes grow well in the cold valleys of Svaneti, and tashmijabi is how families around Mestia turn them into a feast dish: they are mashed hot, then beaten with handfuls of young sulguni until the purée becomes glossy and stretches from the spoon in long strands. It is served with grilled meat, kubdari or simply with pickles and Svan salt. A common mistake is letting the potatoes cool before adding the cheese; they must be piping hot for the cheese to melt and stretch. Chef's tip: keep the pan on a low heat while you beat, and use a firm wooden spoon. Most sulguni uses animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one or use mozzarella.
Georgian
Jamaican callalooSteamed callaloo greens
In Jamaica, callaloo means the leaves and tender stems of a type of amaranth, sold in big bundles in every market from Coronation Market in Kingston to Santa Cruz in St Elizabeth. It's steamed down with onion, tomato, garlic and thyme into soft, savoury greens with a mild mineral sweetness, and eaten at breakfast with fried dumplings, boiled green bananas or hard dough bread, or as a side at dinner. Spinach or Swiss chard can stand in if you can't find callaloo. Chef's tip: peel the fibrous skin from the thicker stems with a small knife and slice the stems and leaves finely across, about 1 cm wide. That's how Jamaican cooks get callaloo that's tender all the way through rather than stringy.
Jamaican