Yellow acorn squash & beans curry

 

When we stayed at Fabienne‘s during our holidays in France, she prepared for us a tasty and heartwarming vegetarian yellow tofu and carrots curry. And this in turn inspired me to make this yellow acorn squash and beans curry for Meatless Monday. I think this yellow curry would be great also with other winter squashes, like the butternut squash.

The quantities in the recipe here serve 2 to 3 people. It’s ready in 45 minutes or so.

Ingredients

For the yellow paste:

• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 chili pepper, deseeded and chopped (use less if you prefer your curry less hot)
• Half a thumb of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
• 2 medium kaffir lime leaves, shredded
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

For the stew:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 medium acorn squashes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into batons
• ½ medium red bell pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1 cup of coconut cream
• 1 to 1 ½ cups of cooked white beans (rinsed if from a tin)
• 1 to 1 ½ cups of water
• Salt

Preparation

First, prepare the yellow paste: in a blender, add the onion, chili pepper, ginger, garlic, and the spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric, black pepper) and the kaffir lime leaves. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and blend until purée. Set aside.

In a cooking pot over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, acorn squash, carrot, and bell pepper, and sauté stirring often for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the cooking pot, and reserve.

In the same cooking pot over high heat, add the yellow paste, and cook stirring often for 2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the coconut cream, and cook 3 to 4 minutes until slightly thicken. Add the reserved vegetables, and the beans. Cover with 1 cup of water (add a bit more water during the cooking if needed), stir well, and season with salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer covered until the vegetables are tender, about 13 minutes.

Remove from the heat, and let rest 5 minutes before eating.

Serve with brown or white rice (I prefer with white rice).