Easy Chickpea & Kale Coconut Curry

We are now over 2 months into the lockdown and you may (or may not) have quite a bit of canned goods sitting on your pantry shelf, waiting for you to breathe life into them by using them in a lunch or dinner recipe.

One such tinned legume is the good old chickpea! An ingredient that often times, finds itself stored away in our pantries and cupboards, collecting dust and waiting for the day that it is chosen to star in a dish.

I’m pleased to tell you that day has indeed arrived! This recipe is designed for you – yes you! Blow the dust off those chickpea cans and make it the attraction of what I hope will be your dinner (or leftover lunch) recipe. Read on and allow yourself to be inspired by this quick, easy and delicious vegetarian recipe!

Prep time: 10 mins             Cooking time: 20                 Serving: 4

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 400ml coconut milk
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 scotch bonnet or 2 chillies (can also be sliced and used directly in the curry sauce)
• 1/2 tbs curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbs salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbs sunflower oil
• 1 veg stock cube
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 4 leaves of Cavolo Nero, sliced
• 3 tbs of butternut squash puree (optional)
•  Cooked basmati rice to serve

Method

Butternut squash puree

Although this puree is optional to include, it is super handy to have in your fridge or freezer when making dishes like stews, gnocchi, curries or risotto.

• Make the squash puree by cutting a butternut squash in half and into large chunks
• Cook on medium heat in salted water until the pieces are tender and soft
• Remove the pieces from the pan and reserve 2-3 tbs of the cooking liquid then drain
• Place into a blender along with a drizzle of olive oil and the scotch bonnet/chilli then blitz until perfectly smooth
• Season lightly with sea salt and black pepper and blitz again until combined

The chickpea curry

• Add the oil to a saucepot over medium heat and allow it to warm up for 1 min
• Add onions and saute gently for a further minute before adding the spices, pepper, salt, thyme and stock cube and allow to cook for about 3 minutes*
• Grate in the garlic and saute for another minute before adding the chickpeas
• Pour in the squash chilli mixture if you are using it 
• Add the coconut milk, stir and leave to simmer for about 2 minutes
• Turn the heat down to low and cook covered for a further 15 minutes
• During the final minute of cooking, add the Cavalo Nero and stir in before switching off the heat
• The kale will cook in the residual heat, which will keep its crunch and freshness as overcooking them can mean losing a lot of the nutrients
• Serve with cooked basmati rice (or rice of your choice) or naan bread

*TSF tip: by cooking the spices with the onions and garlic for this time, it enhances the flavours infusing and perfuming the oil

Note: if it gets too dry and starts smoking, add a tablespoon of water to stop it from burning

If you attempt this, let me know and share your thoughts on how you found it.

Happy cooking!