Winter Squash Coconut Curry with Bok Choy and Sweet Herbs

by Tim Wastell

A wonderful Thai-inspired curry that is perfect for a cold winter night. If you keep some of these specialty ingredients in your pantry, this is definitely a recipe to try. And if you don’t already have them, what a perfect excuse to pick some up and try them for yourself! Can be served as a stew, over rice, with noodle, or flatbread.

Serves 4-6.

  • ¾ cup shallots, thinly sliced

  • ¼ cup scallions, white parts thinly sliced

  • 2 lime leaves, Makrut or Kaffir

  • 1 stalk lemongrass, (1 Tbsp very thinly sliced, the rest left whole and hit a few times with the back of a kitchen knife to bruise)

  • 2 Tbsp. neutral oil

  • Sweet herbs such as Thai basil, mint, cilantro, borage and curry leaf for garnish

  • Lime wedges

  • Sea salt

Ingredients:

  • 4 cup squash such as Winter Sweet, Sweet Mama or other “saucy” type, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

  • 4 cup loosely packed and sliced bok choy

  • 32 oz. coconut milk

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely grated

  • 1 Tbsp. fresh turmeric, finely grated

  • 1 Tbsp. garlic, thinly sliced

  • 1 Tbsp. Massaman curry paste

  • ¾ cup leeks, washed and thinly sliced

Directions:

In a medium-sized, heavy bottomed sauce pot, heat 2 Tbsp. neutral oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the leeks, lemongrass, shallots, garlic and scallions and cook until softened but not darkly colored, stirring constantly. Add the ginger and turmeric and a pinch of sea salt and continue cooking until the mixture barely begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, then add the curry paste. Add the winter squash to the pan and stir until evenly coated with the aromatics. Add the coconut milk, water, lime leaves and lemon grass stalk, bring to almost boiling, then reduce to a bare simmer and cook until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add the bok choy, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, serve with lime wedges and the sweet herbs to garnish.