Baked salmon & veg

Name: Baked salmon & veg
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 adults and 1 baby
Ingredients: 3 skinless salmon fillets; 2 medium sweet potatoes; 1 head broccoli; 1–2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

Salmon fillets baked on a tray with soft sweet potato wedges, served with steamed broccoli. Contains fish: offer it once your baby has had fish on its own.

From: 6 months
Time: 45 min
Makes: 2 adults and 1 baby

Contains fish

Ingredients

3skinless salmon filletsabout 120 g (4 oz) each
2 mediumsweet potatoesabout 500 g (1 lb 2 oz)
1 headbroccoliabout 300 g (10 oz)
1–2 tbspolive or vegetable oil

Steps

1Wash your hands. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Scrub the sweet potatoes under running water, peel them and cut them into wedges about 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in). Rinse the broccoli and cut it into large florets, leaving a long stem on each, and peel the tough outer layer off thick stems.
2Toss the wedges with the oil on a lined baking tray and roast for 15 minutes.
3Turn the wedges, move them to the sides and put the salmon in the middle of the tray. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, until the salmon is opaque, flakes easily and reaches 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part, and a knife slides through the wedges with no resistance. Wash your hands after handling raw fish.
4Meanwhile, steam the broccoli for about 5 to 8 minutes, until a knife slides through the stem with no resistance. Steaming keeps it softer than roasting.
5Let the salmon cool a little, then pull your baby's portion apart with your fingers, feeling every flake for bones and removing any bone and skin you find. Trim any crisp edges off the wedges. Squash a wedge and a floret between your thumb and finger: they should squash easily. Check everything is only just warm before serving.

How to serve it by age

6 months+

Once your baby has had fish on its own without a reaction, offer large soft flakes of salmon, a couple of sweet potato wedges and a broccoli floret held by its stem. Or mash the salmon into the sweet potato and serve it on a pre-loaded spoon.

9 months+

Offer small boneless flakes of salmon no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), with sweet potato and broccoli chopped to the same size, or keep offering soft wedges to bite.

12 months+

Serve the family meal, with salmon, sweet potato and broccoli in bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch). Keep checking the salmon for bones.

Where US and UK guidance differ on this recipe

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Salmon is on the FDA/EPA 'Best choices' list for low mercury. The FDA advice is for children aged 1 and older: for ages 1 to 3, a serving is about 1 oz (28 g), 2 servings a week from that list. It doesn't give a serving size for babies under 12 months.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS baked salmon recipe for babies from 6 months says to aim for 2 portions of fish a week, including 1 oily fish such as salmon. The NHS also sets a limit on oily fish for children: up to 4 portions a week for boys and no more than 2 for girls, because the pollutants oily fish contains can build up in the body.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

If your baby reacts

This recipe contains fish. Introduce one new allergen at a time, mixed into a food your baby already eats, before serving it in a dish with other new foods. Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if you notice mild signs after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Leftovers and the rest of the family

Storing it

Best eaten fresh. Cool leftovers quickly and keep them in a covered container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or freeze the flaked salmon and sweet potato for 3 to 4 months (broccoli goes watery when frozen). Reheat only once, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let it cool before serving. Throw away anything left in your baby's bowl, and any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F / 32°C).

For the grown-ups

Take your baby's salmon, wedges and broccoli out first, before any salt goes on. Then season the adults' salmon and wedges with salt, black pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Add new potatoes or another fillet for a bigger family.