Vegetable Red Thai Curry

Got some wild squash, aubergine and spinach in my veg box the other week and, as I had two vegetarian friends coming round, thought a red thai curry would be a good way to use them!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CURRY PASTE:

• 3 red chillis, de-seeded (unless you like it super spicy)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 bananas shallots
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, outer layer removed
• The zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional – if you want this to be strictly vegetarian just omit it)
• 2 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Handful of coriander stalks (optional – I love coriander but know a lot of people don’t!)

FOR THE CURRY:

• 2 medium aubergines/eggplants
• About 500g of squash, peeled and choped into bitesize chunks
• 8 – 10 chestnut mushrooms
• 1 tin of coconut milk
• 3 handfuls of cashew nuts
• Handful of coriander/cilantro
• 6 or so baby sweetcorns
• 2-3 handfuls of spinach

FOR THE CORIANDER YOGURT:

• Pot of yogurt
• Handful of coriander/cilantro

METHOD

• Make the curry paste. Combine all the ingredients for the paste in a blender or food processor a few hours before you want to use it.
• Aubergines can sometimes taste quite bitter. To prevent this, chop your aubergines into bitesized pieces and place in a colander a few hours before you want to make your curry. Sprinkle a very, very generous amount of salt so they are basically coated(don’t worry, you’ll rinse them later), place a plate on top of them and weigh down with heavy weights. Leave for a couple of hours – this extracts the bitter juices from the aubergines.
• Rinse your aubergines and pat dry with kitchen towel or a (clean) tea-cloth. Heat about 3 tbsp of light oil (sunflower or vegetable) in a wok and fry the aubergine on both sides until they turn golden brown. Then remove from the oil.
• Heat some oil in a wok and fry the curry paste for around 1 minute until fragrant, but keep it moving so it doesn’t catch and burn – then add the squash and the coconut milk. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms and the aubergines and simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Add the baby sweetcorn, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Add the cashews and spinach and stir until the spinach has wilted. Season to taste with soy sauce, black pepper and – if you want a slightly more sour hit – tamarind paste.
• Combine the yogurt and coriander to form the coriander yogurt, then serve everything with some boiled rice and top with extra cashews and coriander for a decorative effect.
• Enjoy!

Step-by-step images etc are here if it helps: http://ift.tt/2fvlnKN

bon appetit