Calabacín Curry with Eastern Spices

Name: Calabacín Curry with Eastern Spices
Total time: 2400 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 10 green cardamom pods, bashed; 100 ml coconut milk; 1 lime, zest and juice; 3 cm piece ginger, peeled; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp coriander seeds; 1/2 lime, zest and juice; 400 g cherry tomatoes; 1 large onion; 1 tbsp palm sugar; 225 g (2) zephyr courgettes; Toasted spices:; To serve:; 2 tsp fennel seeds; 300 ml coconut milk; Curry sauce:; Small handful coriander leaves/Thai basil; 600 g fillet of hake or other white firm fish (optional); Fish marinade:; 5 cloves garlic, peeled; 6 Kaffir Lime leaves; 2 birds eye chillies; 500 ml vegetable stock; 1 tsp hot chilli powder; 1 tsp ground turmeric

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

The courgette is a variety of summer squash in the gourd family that is harvested when immature while the rind is still tender and edible. Squash has its origins in the Americas and was brought to the Mediterranean around 500 years ago. However, the cylindrical summer squash that we know and love today was not developed until the latter half of the 19th century by growers in Northern Italy where it became known as ‘zucchini’. In France it adopted the name ‘courgette’ and in Spain ‘calabacín’. Though the marrow has been in England for at least two centuries, the courgette didn’t get a mention until the 1960s.

‘Zephyr’ is a hybrid cultivar that has yellow crookneck, delicata and acorn squash in its ancestry and so has a few quirks – some fruit have crooks and the first fruits to develop on the plants are sometimes yellow with green stripes. It does look rather odd as it, unusually, has a pale green tip at the blossom end as though it has been dipped in paint! The fruit is firm with a mild nutty flavour and holds together well in a sauce.

This is a versatile recipe as it can be adapted easily to be vegan, or pescatarian. The base sauce is a fusion of flavours often found in East African cuisine from the warm spices from Bengal mixed with fragrant spices from Indonesia and enveloped in a creamy coconut sauce.

The hero in this recipe is the zephyr courgette but today I have switched it up and added hake caught off the Cornish coast during a neap tide. #GoldenApron23

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

The hero in this recipe is the zephyr courgette but today I have switched it up and added hake caught off the Cornish coast during a neap tide. #GoldenApron23

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Ingredients

40 minutes

4 servings

1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
10green cardamom pods, bashed
100 mlcoconut milk
1lime, zest and juice
3 cmpiece ginger, peeled
1 tspground turmeric
1 tspground ginger
1/2 tspsea salt flakes
1 tspground coriander
1 tspcumin seeds
1 tspcoriander seeds
1/2lime, zest and juice
400 gcherry tomatoes
1large onion
1 tbsppalm sugar
225 g(2) zephyr courgettes
Toasted spices:
To serve:
2 tspfennel seeds
300 mlcoconut milk
Curry sauce:
Small handful coriander leaves/Thai basil
600 gfillet of hake or other white firm fish (optional)
Fish marinade:
5 clovesgarlic, peeled
6Kaffir Lime leaves
2birds eye chillies
500 mlvegetable stock
1 tsphot chilli powder
1 tspground turmeric
1 tspground cumin
1 tspsea salt flakes

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Steps

40 minutes

1

Fish curry: Mix the coconut milk, lime zest and juice, ginger, turmeric, black pepper and salt in a bowl. Add the hake and coat with the marinade. Cover and place in the fridge.
2

Toasted spice: Lightly bash the cardamom pods then place in a small tawa or frying pan with the fennel, coriander and cumin seeds. Gently toast until the aromas have released. Remove the outer paper covering from the cardamom pods then place with the remaining spices in a grinder and grind into powder.
3

Curry sauce: Chop the tomatoes in two then place half in a large food processer with the onion, garlic, ginger, lime leaves, chillies, coconut milk and stock and blend until smooth. Add the toasted spices then blend again until smooth.
4

Pour the curry sauce into a shallow saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add the dry spices, lime zest and juice, palm sugar then stir, cover and cook for 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
5

Cut the courgettes into large chunks and add to the sauce with the remaining tomatoes. Check the seasoning adding a little salt or lime juice as required.
6

Remove the fish from the marinade and sear skin side down in a dry pan for 5 minutes. Remove the fish and place flesh side down in the sauce. Pour any remaining marinade into the curry sauce. Cover and cook the fish for 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish until the fish is opaque and flakes easily. Scatter with the coriander leaves and serve with rice.