Steamed Green Bean Fingers with Thinned Walnut Butter Drizzle

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) fresh green beans, tops trimmed
• 1 tbsp (15 g) smooth 100% walnut butter, no added salt or sugar (or 25 g walnut halves blitzed to a completely smooth paste)
• 3 tbsp (45 g) plain unsweetened full-fat pasteurised yogurt (or baby's usual milk — see step 6)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon juice
• 15–30 ml warm water, to thin
• Pinch of ground cumin (optional, no salt)

Method

1. 1. Steam the green beans for 8–10 minutes — longer than you would cook them for yourself. They are ready when a bean squashes flat between your thumb and forefinger with no resistance; if the skin still feels tough or stringy, steam for another 2 minutes and press each bean lightly with the back of a fork to split the skin before serving.
2. 2. While they steam, whisk the walnut butter with the yogurt, lemon juice and cumin.
3. 3. Add the warm water a little at a time until the sauce pours like single cream. It must be a smooth, thin drizzle — never a thick glob of nut butter, which can stick to the roof of a baby's mouth.
4. 4. Drain the beans and let them cool to lukewarm.
5. 5. Spoon a thin coating of the drizzle over the beans, or serve it in a shallow dish for dipping.
6. 6. Introduce only one new allergen at a time: if baby has already had dairy without a reaction, make the sauce with yogurt as written; if dairy is still new, thin the walnut butter with baby's usual breast milk or formula instead so walnut is the only new food. Offer a small amount early in the day at home and watch baby for the next couple of hours.