Spicy Pumpkin with Spinach and Cashews [vegetarian]

We all enjoyed the combination of flavors in Oriental Spiced Pumpkin Pie so much that I decided to use it in a similar but easier (and faster) to prepare dish. My idea was to create a type of vegetarian stew that could be served as a main with rice, couscous or quinoa, or as a side dish for duck/chicken.

I used coconut milk not only to create the sauce but also to enhance the taste of the dish. And – in case it is supposed to be served as a main vegetarian dish – I added cashew nuts for the extra proteins. The final meal is really delicious: creamy, spiced but not too spicy, wonderful for cold autumn and winter days.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions as a main, or 6 as side dish):

1 tsp ground coriander,

1 tsp ground cumin,

1 tsp cinnamon,

1 tsp sweet paprika,

0.5 tsp hot paprika,

0.5 tsp salt

3 tbsp olive oil,

500g squash, deseeded, peeled and cut in to 3 cm pieces,

100g shallots, peeled and cut into quarters,

2 tsp grated ginger,

40g cashew nuts,

40g raisins,

1 tbsp honey,

250ml coconut milk,

50g spinach.

METHOD:

1. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees fan.
2. In a small bowl mix together the coriander, cumin, cinnamon, both paprika, salt an 2 tbsp of olive oil.
3. Put the squash into a baking tin and pour the mixed spices, coat the squash well in the mixture (can be done with your hands) and put to the hot oven for 30 minutes.
4. Warm up 1 tbsp olive in a big frying pan, add the shallots and fry them on a medium heat for approx. 10 min.
5. Add the ginger, fry for another minute and then add the cashews, raisins and honey, stir and add the baked squash.
6. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach; cook till the spinach starts to wilt.
7. Serve with rice, couscous or quinoa as a separate, vegetarian/vegan dish or as a side dish with chicken or duck.

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Chicken Stir-Fry with Broccoli and Cashew Nuts

This is a very important dish for my family because it introduced my pretty-small-then daughters to the Chinese (or at least Chinese style) cuisine. The girls were very picky eaters and there was a very narrow variety of products they would be happy to eat. But - probably like majority of mothers - I tried to slowly introduce them to new ingredients. When finally they seemed to be ready, I made this stir-fry and they loved it (OK, I still had to pick out carrots from one of the portions but at least my daughter didn't mind that the carrots touched other ingredients so it was a great success after all!). The only complaint was about the small amount of cashews so from then on I always added more of them.

When I cook this dish nowadays, I add slightly more oyster sauce to it to give a more distinct flavour. So if you cook for older children or adults, you should put 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce instead of the 2 mentioned in the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

2 tbsp wok oil,

500g chicken breasts (or thigh fillets), skinless, cut into bite –size pieces,

1 clove garlic, crushed,

1 leek (approx. 200g), thinly sliced,

1-2 carrots (approx. 150g), cut into julienne (matchsticks) strips,

250g broccoli, cut into small florets,

1 tsp cornflour,

125ml chicken stock,

2 tbsp oyster sauce,

100g roasted, unsalted cashew nuts.

METHOD:

1. Heat up 1 tbsp of the oil in a wok.
2. Add the chicken in 2-3 batches, stir-fry till cooked through and golden; put aside on a plate.
3. Heat up the rest of the oil in a wok, add the garlic, leek, carrots and broccoli; stir fry until the vegetables are cooked through but still crunchy; add the chicken.
4. Dissolve the cornflour in the stock, add to the wok together with the oyster sauce and cashews and cook till the sauce thickens.
5. Serve with cooked rice.

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