Roz Purcell’s Vegan Peanut, Squash & Chickpea Curry

Peanut, Squash & Chickpea Curry

You can blitz the leftovers of this curry into an epic peanut and squash curry soup. All you have to do is add some vegetable stock to suit your slurping preference!

Ingredients
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled and spiralised
1 x 400ml tin of full-fat coconut milk
4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
60g dried fruit, such as raisins, sultanas, goji berries or chopped pitted dates
2? tbsp good-quality curry powder (check to make sure there’s no added sugar)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
200ml water
1 tsp chopped fresh coriander, to garnish
cooked brown or wild rice, to serve
1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Method
Melt the coconut oil in a wide-bottomed saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes before adding the squash. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

While this is cooking, put the coconut milk and peanut butter in a smoothie maker or small blender and blitz until no lumps are visible.

Now back to the saucepan. The squash will have softened but still have a bit of bite, which is perfect. Add the chickpeas, dried fruit, spices and some salt and pepper. Turn up the heat to high and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the water and let it boil for 2 minutes more before removing the pan from the heat. Once the curry stops bubbling, pour in the coconut and peanut mixture and keep stirring until it thickens up slightly.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with the chopped fresh coriander and serve with the rice and a lime wedge on the side.

Extracted from Half Hour Hero: Real Food, Real Fast by Roz Purcell (Penguin Ireland, €23). Photography by Joanne Murphy.