Thai-Style Butternut Squash Curry

This curry is easy to make and pretty quick. Just make the paste, chop
the veggies and cook it all in a wok (or large frying pan) with the
coconut milk. 30-40 minutes to make!

Scrummy on its own or with plain rice.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 butternut squash
1 medium onion, peeled & roughly chopped
500g of other in-season vegetables, such as runner beans, brocolli, cauliflower, potatoes,
carrots, late-season courgettes
1 tin coconut milk (or 1/2 block of creamed coconut, dissolved in 300ml warm water)
1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled & roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch piece of fresh lemongrass (optional)
1 fresh chilli (or dried equivalent)
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lime (optional)
30 ml oil (e.g. olive oil, sunflower, sesame oil)

Method

1. To make the curry paste: put the onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass (if using, chilli,
tumeric, salt, lime juice (if using) and olive oil in a blender and puree until a smooth
paste.

2. Peel the squash with a potato peeler. Chop off the stalk and flower end. Chop in
half and use a spoon to remove the seeds. Chop into 1/2 inch cubes.

3. Prepare the other vegetables by washing and chopping into quick-to-cook chunks.

4. Put the paste into a large pan or wok and fry gently, stirring, for 2 minutes.

5. Add the vegetables and stir, to coat them with the paste.

6. Add the coconut milk and mix well.

7. Cook gently, uncovered for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the
sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally, to prevent burning and uneven cooking. Add
more water if the sauce gets too dry, before the vegetables are cooked.

Make sure you have removed all the pips before cooking, or these can make the
squash taste bitter.

The lime juice and lemongrass give this a more authentic flavour, but we often
don't have either in stock, and it still tastes great without them.