There are lots of delicious vegan and vegetarian dishes on Original Flava, introduced to me by my daughter’s mother-in-law. Some of the ingredients used are not readily available locally, but there are some substitutions and good options still. I have ordered some scotch bonnet paste online, and for the rest, I’ve stuck to recipes that I can adapt to local ingredients.
INGREDIENTS:
- 200g butternut squash, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 200g sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 200g small potatoes, with the skin on
- Olive oil
- 2 onions (preferably one red onion, one white onion)
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- A 2cm piece of ginger root, peeled and chopped
- 3 spring onions
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped
- 2-3 tbsp curry powder (you can buy West Indian curry powder online at Seasoned Pioneers)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 100ml coconut milk
- 100ml vegetable stock
- A good handful of spinach or homegrown Japanese kale
- 1/4 tsp scotch bonnet paste
- salt and pepper
METHOD:
- Heat the oven to 180C
- Cut the vegetables to 3 cm chunks. You don’t need to peel anything, but I’m not a fan of butternut squash rind. Onion squash rind is softer and is a good alternative. Put the vegetables onto a baking tray, and add about 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for at least 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- Heat another tbsp oil in a pan, and gently fry the onions, garlic, ginger, spring onions and chopped tomatoes until they are soft.
- Add a pinch of salt, 2 tsp ground black pepper, curry powder and paprika. Mix together and cook for a minute, and then stir in the coconut milk so that you have a thick paste.
- Take the roasted vegetables, and add these to the pan, along with the stock, thyme, spinach and scotch bonnet. Bring to a simmer, check for seasoning, and then keep simmering until the spinach is cooked.