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It’s that testing time of year when we really want to try and eat more healthily yet our tastes crave warming comfort food rather than salad leaves.
The recipe this month has a Far Eastern feel to it and I love it as an alternative to the robust meat stews that we can fall into to fortify ourselves against the cold. Full of vibrant colour, flavour and fresh ingredients, it’s a satisfying one-pot main course that doesn’t take too long to prepare and cook. It’s also a good way of using up that jar of Thai red curry paste that always seems to lurk in the back of the fridge.
If you’ve not tried sweet potato before then have a go with this recipe as it matches beautifully with the mildly spicy flavours in the curry paste. Sweet potatoes are also good for a low GI diet and give a feeling of fullness that we need in these winter months.
The recipe given below is meat free but if you have any leftover cooked chicken that isn’t quite enough for a meal on its own then add to this recipe to satisfy the meat-eaters and save on waste!
Hope you enjoy it.
Serves 4 generous portions
1 tablespoon sunflower oil/groundnut oil
2 medium onions
2 large cloves of garlic
2 medium sweet potatoes
200g of mushrooms –I prefer to use chestnut mushrooms
1 heaped tablespoon Thai red curry paste
1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock
Small tin or ½ large tin of coconut milk (use half fat if preferred)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful of fresh coriander
2 nests of dried fine egg noodles or 150g ‘ready-to-wok’ noodles
Large handful fresh spinach
Small pack of fresh bean sprouts (optional) see note below
Chop the onion into smallish pieces and finely chop or grate the garlic.
Peel and dice the sweet potato and cut into pieces about 1cm size.
Wipe the mushrooms and thickly slice.
Coarsely chop the coriander.
Roughly chop the spinach.
If using dried noodles pre cook them according to the packet instructions and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and add the onion. Fry the onion for about 4 to 5 mins until beginning to soften and lightly colour, turning it around the pan to prevent it burning.
Add the garlic, sweet potatoes and mushrooms and continue frying for another couple of minutes, moving them around the pan.
Add and mix in the Thai red curry paste and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Cook for another minute or so, before adding the stock.
Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for about 10mins until the sweet potato is cooked and soft when pierced with a knife. (It will look like a lot of liquid at this stage but the noodles and coconut milk will thicken it considerably).
Pour in the coconut milk and the soy sauce, stir and then add the egg noodles and spinach. Continue to simmer gently for another 3-4 mins until the noodles have warmed through.
Serve in deep dishes, sprinkled with the chopped coriander.
You can also add a small handful of fresh bean sprouts in the bottom of each bowl to add crunch and texture. If you’re not keen on the bean sprouts then just leave out from the dish.
As a variation omit the noodles and serve just as a soup with crusty bread.
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