Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Last week, as winter was biting I suggested that a warming soup or one-pot wonder were the best thing at the end of the day.

As I am writing this it's a sunny Tauranga day and thoughts of winter are far away. However, I do have a crop of pumpkin ready at the front doorstep for soup. But my thoughts today are of curry. Some curries can take a lot to prepare and others are simple, like this week's recipe, which can be made in a large frying pan with a lid.

Vegetable curries come in many styles and types but I quite like a simple rustic one that is easy to prepare. With plenty of good pumpkin around, it goes well with ginger, garlic and coconut cream, as it does in my favourite pumpkin soup. This curry is a deconstruction of Thai-style pumpkin and peanut soup. By adding a crust to the pumpkin, and simmering it in spiced coconut cream, the flavours are all there to warm us up this winter.

Crusted pumpkin curry

450-500g pumpkin (half a medium-size pumpkin) cut into 4cm cubes

1 finely chopped brown onion

1 tsp chopped garlic

2 tsp chopped ginger

2 Tbsp Korean chilli powder

200ml coconut cream

1 cinnamon stick

2 Tsp lime juice

50-60g palm sugar

oil for cooking

Crusting mix

½ cup raw blanched peanuts (lightly toasted and finely chopped)

100g pumpkin seeds

2 Tbsp coriander seeds

1 Tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 Tbsp sea salt flakes

Method

Toast coriander and cumin seeds by dry-frying in a hot pan. Remove

and toast pumpkin seeds then crush all in a mortar and pestle. Add the

turmeric, sea salt and finely chopped peanuts. Toss the diced pumpkin in the dry mixture then pan-fry in a large, hot pan with a little oil for a few minutes each side and set aside. Add the remaining spice mix to a food

processor and blend to a paste with a dribble of the pan juices. Using a spatula, top the cubes of partially cooked pumpkin with the crust paste. Allow to rest while you make the sauce. In the same pan, (an electric pan with a lid is ideal), which should have a spicy residue, add a little oil and cook the onion until soft and golden, then add ginger, garlic, the chilli powder and then add the coconut cream with equal amounts of water and the stick of cinnamon. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, then add the pumpkin pieces carefully back into the pan. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until pumpkin pieces are tender. Add the lime juice and grated palm sugar and cook for a few more minutes. Serve with rice or just by itself.