Thai Peanut, Butternut, Red Pepper and Spinach Curry.

Well, October is now well and truly upon us and my goodness has it turned chilly outside. To warm up last week I tantalised the old taste-buds with this very delicious Thai peanut curry which just so happens to be the perfect autumnal recipe to tuck into over the coming week as it is National Curry Week and there really is no more scrumptious dish to celebrate with. A creamy, subtle peanut sauce packed full of lovely butternut squash chunks, red pepper pieces and bundles of spinach; served alongside Thai jasmine rice and scattered with fresh coriander leaves and crushed salted peanuts. Perfection.

Recipe

Makes one piping hot pan full of Thai peanut curry to dive into and enjoy!

200ml boiled water 

2 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tsp. tomato purée
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. light soy sauce 
1 tsp. light brown sugar
Small handful fresh coriander
2 red chillies, halved and deseeded
4 garlic cloves
1cm piece fresh ginger
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
300g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks (not too big!)
200g red pepper, core and seeds removed
100g frozen spinach
400ml tin coconut milk

salted peanuts to garnish

Method

1. Stir the peanut butter into a jug containing 200ml hot water until it dissolves, then stir in the tomato purée, lime zest and juice, soy sauce and brown sugar and set aside.

2. Remove the leaves from the coriander and set aside as well. Chop the stalks as finely as you can and chop up the chilli, garlic and ginger nice and small too.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or good-sized pan and fry the onions quite briskly for a few minutes, so that they catch slightly. As soon as this starts to happen, add the butternut squash and red pepper and stir-fry for a few minutes. 

4. Stir in the chilli, garlic, coriander stalk, garlic and ginger mixture for 1-2 minutes, then add in the lovely creamy coconut milk. Stir once more, then add the peanut butter mix and cook at a brisk simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding the frozen spinach half way through, until the sauce has thickened slightly, the spinach is cooked and the butternut squash is tender. 

5. Finally, serve alongside some Thai Jasmine rice and garnish with the reserved coriander leaves and some finely chopped salted peanuts. All done and dusted, now sit back, relax, snuggle up under a blanket, stick on the telly and enjoy!

Thank you for reading!