Butternut squash and spinach coconut curry

Serves 4 You will need:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 butternut squash

• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce

• 75g de-stalked, shredded spinach

• 75g cashew nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves

• Rice, to serve

1

Put the coconut oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and allow it to get warm. Tip in the finely chopped onion, season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover the pan and allow the onions to sweat on a gentle heat for 8-10 minutes until they are completely soft.

2

While the onions are cooking, prepare the butternut squash. Peel it using a small, sharp knife, then cut it into quarters, scoop out the seeds, and chop the squash into 2cm chunks. Set aside.

3

When the onion is cooked, add in the finely grated fresh ginger and the Thai red curry paste. Stir them over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until they are aromatic, then tip in the prepared chunks of squash. Cook the mixture for a couple of minutes, stirring to coat the squash chunks in the paste, then pour in the tinned coconut milk. Bring everything up to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes until the butternut squash chunks are just tender, ensuring to stir the saucepan every so often to prevent the squash sticking to the base.

4

Add in fish sauce to season, then mix in the shredded spinach, and cook gently for a couple of minutes until the spinach has wilted.

5

Scatter the curry with the coarsely chopped toasted cashew nuts — see my Top Tip, right — and the fresh coriander leaves. Serve with rice.