Yummy Vegie Curry - soul food & winter warmer

Hi Ladies,

As the weather has been so cold in Melbourne recently, I thought I would share this yummy family favourite. It is a recipe that I made up one Sunday afternoon and now is a standard winter warmer. One of my daughters calls this 'soul food'.

This is a throw in a good large pot on the stovetop recipe. I use my big Le Creuset Caserole pot and seem to get the best results from that.

You can use just about any vegetable for this, but the base is sweet potato. You can also make it as hot as you like with a good quality Red Curry Paste.

Place in pot -

A good glug of Olive oil
2 Large Brown onions - diced
4 Cloves Garlic - finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of grated fresh Ginger
Red Curry Paste - I use good sized 3 tablespoons (I use the Valcom brand for convenience - but if you make your own, even better)
Heat oil. Cook off onions, garlic, ginger and red curry paste.

Then add in whatever you like but these are the main items I use:

2 large sweet potato peeled - cubed
4 potato peeled - cubed
12- 16 mushrooms - or - large punnet of mushrooms - chopped or cubed
2 medium zucchini - chopped into chunks
4 large carrots peeled - cubed
1 400 gram large tin of crushed tomatoes
2 handfuls fresh green beans - chopped (you can place these in toward the end of main cooking if you like them a little crunchy - my family do!)

A bit of salt and cracked pepper to taste

I have tried this with other vegies:
Broccoli
Leak
Bok Choy
Pumpkin
Parsnip
just about anything...just depends on your preference

Add Stock - you can use vegie or chicken, depends on your preference - I use Massel or Campbells or my own if I have any (chicken) - approx 1 litre to 1.5 litres - pour in enough into just cover the vegies, even a little less as they break down in the cooking and create their own juice, it is a bit of hit and miss. You can always top it up if you need to with extra stock or water, if it appears to be too stiff when stirring.

Cook on low heat slowly for best results (around 2 hours usually) - I usually let it simmer away, stirring occasionally until the vegies are soft and the sweet potato is breaking down into a mashy consistency, this also naturally thickens it or stir a small amount of coconut cream just prior to serving...

Chop some fresh parsley or corriander on top to serve, sometimes even a little grated lemon zest which gives it a nice tang.
Serve with rice of choice!

Even better served the following day….the flavours seem to be more intense. This also freezes and reheats very well.

This will warm you up....Enjoy!

Linda