“As soon as I was old enough to peer over the worktops, I remember being fascinated by what went on in the kitchen. It just seemed such a cool place, everyone working together to make this lovely stuff and having a laugh doing it.”

— Jamie Oliver

Over the Holiday Season there’s always time for extra indulgences; wearing pj’s all day, hot chocolate for breakfast and lounging under blankets watching movies and shows. Last week I was watching Jamie Oliver’s show Together. He was preparing a delicious Indian inspired meal for a family picnic. One of the dishes was this Butternut Squash Curry with pineapple and coconut milk. I pulled my pen and paper out and made notes and here it is. It’s been terribly cold here and a steaming bowl of rice and curry will keep us warm.

YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 butternut squash (I got a smaller one as there’s only 2 of us)
• olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 cm piece of ginger
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds or ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 -2 teaspoon mild (or medium) curry powder
• 300 gr ripe cherry tomatoes
• 2 canned pineapple rings in juice
• 1 x 400 ml can of coconut milk
• 1 x 400 gr can of chickpeas
• 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro chopped

TO MAKE:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Scrub the squash (there’s no need to peel it), carefully halve it lengthways and deseed, then chop into 2cm chunks. Place in a roasting tray, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and white/black pepper, then roast for 1 hour, or until soft and caramelized.

Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onion, peel the garlic and ginger, and dry fry (so, no oil) in a non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat with the ground coriander and fenugreek seeds and the curry powder, stirring until lightly charred all over.

Add the tomatoes and pineapple rings (reserving the juice), and cook for 10 minutes to soften and char, stirring regularly. Tip it all into a blender, add the coconut milk and blend until very smooth.

Return to the pan and add the chickpeas, juice and all, and simmer gently until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the roasted squash, then season the curry to perfection, tasting and tweaking, and loosening with the reserved pineapple juice.

Serve immediately or if you’re making this dish ahead, let it cool then store in the fridge until you are serving it.

I hope you are keeping warm if you are anywhere it is cold and I thank you for joining me today.

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If you feel so inclined to buy me a hot chocolate so that I can continue to create content like this, you can do so here.

Love,

Jennifer