thai inspired peanut and sweet potato red curry

It's hard to beat a nut-laden curry.

​Whether it's a cashew-rich Korma or a traditional West African Peanut soup, nuts incorporated into a spicy sauce always makes for a sumptuous and satisfying meal.

I love this take on a classic Thai Red Curry.The addition of sweet potato and peanuts works so well, it's like it was meant to be.

I'm keeping things simple by using a quality, shop-bought red curry paste. Feel free to make a paste from scratch, or just use your favourite brand of pre-made.

I used our fresh, made-in-store peanut butter and the flavour and texture of the end result was unbeatable.

​Growing up, I was the designated cook in our small family from about the age of 14. My dad's New Zealand roots means he can never have enough sweet potato (or kumera) and he'd be very happy eating it with every meal! I learnt to come up with a wide variety of sweet potato recipes. This one remains a firm family favourite. We hope you love it too! 

A note about fresh coriander: I always use the long green stalks of the coriander, not just the leafy bits towards the top. Finely chopped and fried off with your other aromatics like ginger and garlic, coriander stalks add so much depth of flavour. Remove and discard the very bottom roots, give the coriander a good wash under the tap as dirt gets trapped in the stalks. Reserve the leafy parts for garnish and finely dice the green stalks.

Serves 4
Prep and cooking time total: 30 mins

Ingredients:
1 tbsp preferred cooking oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch coriander
1-2 tbsp your preferred brand of Thai red curry paste
2-3 Kaffir lime leaves, left whole
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari or coco aminos
1 400ml can coconut milk 
1½ cups water or liquid stock
½  cup natural peanut butter
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-sized cubes
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced into slightly smaller cubes than the sweet potato
1 red capsicum, diced
2 cups baby spinach or chopped english spinach
¼ cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

Method:
Chop the stalks off the coriander, and put the leafy part aside for garnishing. Finely chop the coriander stalks (see note above).

Heat the  oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, coriander root and garlic and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. If it's browning too quickly, turn the heat down a little.

Add the curry paste and whole kaffir lime leaves, cook while stirring for about 2 minutes.

Add the soy sauce, coconut milk, water or stock and peanut butter to the pot and stir until the peanut butter is incorporated into the sauce. Add the sweet potato and carrot and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat and slow simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender but not mushy.

Remove the kaffir lime leaves. Add the red capsicum and spinach to the pot and let them cook for 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, if needed.

Serve with flatbread, rice or quinoa. Garnish with a scattering of the roasted peanuts and coriander leaves.

​PIMP MY RECIPE
Eggplant works beautifully with this curry. Cut into bite-sized cubes and add at the same stage you add the sweet potato and carrot. Pumpkin works well too.

Hot tip: if you're serving this curry with rice, get your rice cooking just before you start on the curry prep, so it's ready when the curry is.