Alex's Curry

Alex’s Curry

This is the second installment of my collaboration with Alex over at The Frugality. This is a very simple curry paste that can easily be frozen and you can adapt the vegetables depending on what is in season. So for spring I would use asparagus, peas, roast broccoli, summer add roast aubergine, tomatoes and green beans, autumn try pumpkin or sweet potato and cauliflower. This is great for using up any leftover odds and ends veg that you have lying around at the end of the week. Serve with plain rice.

Serves 4

Vegan / GF

INGREDIENTS:

3 tbsp sunflower oil

2 medium carrots, roughly chopped

200g button mushrooms

800ml hot vegetable stock

2 cans of coconut milk (800ml)

80g baby corn, sliced lengthways

2 pak choy, chopped

2 handfuls of chopped cashews

2 spring onions, thinly sliced (optional)

Zest of 1 lime and the juice of half, plus extra lime wedges for serving

For the roast squash:

1 medium squash (1300g), peeled, deseeded and chopped into even chunks

5 tbsp sunflower oil

Pinch of salt and pepper

For the paste:

1 banana shallot, peeled and halved

8 cloves garlic, peeled

2 small thumbs ginger (45g), peeled

2 lemongrass, ends trimmed and roughly chopped

2 mild medium chillis (depending on heat preference), tops trimmed and roughly chopped

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

50g fresh coriander

Preheat the oven to 190C and prepare a large baking tray. Add the squash and toss in the oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked.

While it roasts, you can start on the paste. Throw all the ingredients for the paste into a blender and mix until it makes a rough paste.

Set a large saucepan to a medium heat and add 3 spoons of sunflower oil. Then add the chopped carrot and fry for 3 mins before scraping in the curry paste and remaining 2 spoons of oil. Allow this to simmer for 4-5 mins until cooked through.

Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil, then down to a simmer for 2 minutes until the carrots are cooked. Then add the coconut milk, baby corn, pak choy and mushrooms, and cook for 3 minutes before removing from the heat. Scrape in the roast squash, zest of lime and a squeeze of the juice.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve straight away with rice, lime wedge, cashews and spring onions on top. This curry also freezes well!

Watch me make the recipe here.