In honour of Coeliac Awareness Week, we’re bringing you a gluten-free recipe a day!
If there’s one thing that even the most devout of meat eaters will agree is wonderful vegetarian, it’s a curry. And when it comes to curry, few vegetables compare to the soft creaminess of a perfectly cooked eggplant.
Slowly simmered and intermingled with sizzling spices, this curry recipe by Lee Holmes, author of Supercharged Food: Eat Clean Green and Vegetarian, will whisk you away to eggplant heaven. Consider it your official antidote to winter chills.
WF DF GF SF VEG VG
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
- 6 small eggplants (aubergines), cut into 6 cm (21/2 inch) wedges300 ml (101/2 fl oz) tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
- 270 ml (91/2 fl oz) additive-free coconut milk
- 300 g (101/2 oz) green beans
- Celtic sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 80 g (23/4 oz/1/2 cup) activated almonds, roughly chopped, to serve
- Handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped, to serve
- Juice of 1 lime
- Lime halves, to serve
Curry Paste Ingredients:
- 1 large brown onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, chopped
- 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
Method:
1. Place all the curry paste ingredients in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of filtered water and whizz together for a few seconds.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat and fry the eggplants until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside on paper towel to drain.
3. Heat the remaining coconut oil in the pan and cook the curry paste ingredients for about 3 minutes. Add the eggplant and stir so it is well covered in the paste. Add the tomato passata and coconut milk and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes. Lastly, add the green beans and cook for a further 6 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper, add the almonds, coriander and lime juice and serve with the lime halves on the side.
Lee Holmes’ recipe: Recipes and images from Supercharged Food, Eat Clean, Green and Vegetarian by Lee Holmes, published by Murdoch Books.