Thai Pumpkin Curry

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan-optional

At my favorite Thai restaurant the dish I get every time is, Pumpkin Chicken Curry! It is is creamy with a luscious coconut milk curry sauce, lightly sweet with buttery chunks of freshly cooked pumpkin, and pretty much divine! Kabocha squash, which looks like a small pumpkin, went on sale at the commissary, so I decided to buy and try and recreate the Pumpkin Curry recipe myself. The following recipe is the happy result from this experiment. 

Adapted from the recipe here. 
Makes 5-8 servings

Ingredients: 

• 1 small pumpkin (kabocha, sugar pie) - approximately 1lb
• 1 small red onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp red Thai curry paste
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk (full fat)
• 1 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 1lb boneless and skinless chicken, cubed in to 1"piece (organic, hormone-free, etc.)
• 1 package frozen spinach
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1/4 cup fresh Thai basil (julienned, thinly cut)
• Salt
• Cilantro for garnish (optional)
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*use as many organic ingredients as possible

**can substitute chickpeas for the chicken to make vegan

Directions

Prepare the Pumpkin: 

- Bring a large pot of water to a boil

- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the pumpkin into quarters and scoop out the seeds. (leave the skin on, it's really hard to cut into chunks while still raw.)

- Boil the pumpkin quarters for at 10-15 minutes, or until fork tender. 

- Drain the water and let the pumpkin cool until you can handle it. 

- Cut the pumpkin into bite-size cubes and cut off the rind of the pumpkin from each piece. 

Prepare the Curry: 

- Blend the red curry paste, garlic and onions together (I used a Nutribullet). 

- Heat the coconut oil in a large pan, and saute the mixture over medium heat until the paste smells aromatic. 

- Stir in the can of coconut milk and teaspoon of coconut sugar. Once the oil begins to separate from the mixture, or the sauce begins to simmer, add in the chicken pieces (or chickpeas) and do not disturb the chicken for about 7 minutes. Carefully handle the chicken without stirring much and allow to fully cook in the coconut milk. 

(To better monitor the chicken's doneness, you can cook it only half the can of coconut milk and add the other half with the veggies. I just added the milk all at once though.)

- When the chicken is fully cooked, add the pumpkin and thawed spinach. Simmer until all the pumpkin is fork tender and parts cohesive. 

- Add the lime juice and season with salt to taste. 

- Take off the heat, add the julienned Thai basil, and adjust to taste. 

Serve over brown rice, greens, with Pad Thai, or on it's own. Enjoy!

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