Butternut Squash and Spinach Curry

 

Looking for something to do with the contents of our veg box we decided a curry would be a good idea.  Having searched online, we found this recipe.

The ingredients we used were:-

 

• 1 butternut squash - peeled, de-seeded and cubed
• 1 packet fresh spinach - washed and drained, stems removed 
• 1 onion - sliced
• 1 thumb-sized knob of fresh ginger - peeled and diced finely
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 4 bruised cardamom pods
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
• 500 ml vegetable stock - we made ours up from Gluten Free Bouillon powder
• tin coconut milk - we used about 100ml 
• Sunflower oil for frying

The onion was fried until starting to soften in a little sunflower oil.  Once it was starting to caramelise, the spices and ginger were added and cooked for about a minute.

Then the prepared butternut squash was added and covered with the vegetable stock before being simmered until the squash was cooked.




At this point the coconut milk was added - we used about half a tin - and combined it through before returning to the heat.


Next, the spinach leaves were added and the curry was covered and heated over a moderate heat until the leaves were wilted.

Finally, after a few minutes and whilst the spinach remained a vibrant green, the curry was ready to serve.

Kedgeree

 

Cooked breakfast is something we like from time to time and, seeing as Sous Chef J likes all things yellow, we decided we'd try out kedgeree to see if he liked the dish.

We tracked down a recipe from the BBC website - by the Hairy Bikers - and decided to give it a go. 

Sainsbury's had the undyed smoked haddock the recipe required at their instore fishmonger.

The other ingredients were collected - sliced onion, curry powder, frozen peas and the juice of half a lemon.  Slightly varying the ingredients used by the Hairy Bikers, we used two bags of wholegrain boil-in-the-bag rice and some frozen parsley as they were what we had to hand.  We also used a small dash of single cream at the end of the cooking.


First the fish was placed in our skillet together with 2 bay leaves then covered with 500ml water and brought to the boil before being simmered for just under 10 minutes.  It was then lifted from the water and placed to one side to be flaked.


Once the fish had cooled, it was flaked using two forks.

The water used for the fish was then transferred to a smaller pan and bags of wholegrain rice were cooked, according to directions.  The frozen peas were boiled for a couple of minutes, drained and put to one side.

The eggs were boiled, for 8 minutes, then placed in a jug of cold water... this was repeated until the eggs were cool.  Then they were peeled and quartered.

 
Whilst the rice was cooking, the onion was softened in butter and oil (you can just use oil if you want a dairy free recipe) before the curry powder was added.  This was mixed through well and then left on a low heat for a few minutes.

Once the onion and curry powder had been cooked, the rice and peas were added to the pan and combined well.  Finally, the flaked fish was stirred through with the lemon juice, a good twist of freshly ground black pepper and a generous handful of frozen parsley.  Finally, a dash of single cream was mixed through.

Sous Chef J has an aversion to eggs... so we prepared his own, eggless, dish of kedgeree and HE ATE THE LOT!!

This is a dish that's sure to be made again - whether for breakfast, lunch or tea - as Sous Chef J really enjoyed it and so did we.

To spice it up a bit, you can always add a dash of Tabasco sauce to your plate... but, as Sous Chef J says "less is more" so until you've checked the spiciness, don't overdo it!

Curry Houmous

 Sous Chef J likes to eat finger food and dips are a particular favourite of his.  Up until now, we've had a bit of a stand off in relation to the tastiness (or otherwise in his opinion) of houmous.  However, bearing in mind that he likes all things yellow and mango chutney is good, we hit upon the idea of making a curry-style houmous dip.

We gathered the meagre ingredients - ready made houmous (we do make our own but this was for a speedy lunchtime 'solution'), a tablespoon of curry powder and a dollop of mango chutney.

The ingredients were combined and mixed well.  

Finally, the dip was served with tortilla chips... although we have used mini poppadums as dippers which work well too.

We now make it in larger amounts, then halve the batch and store one lot in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.

Give it a try and let us know what you think!