27 Feb Butternut Squash Chickpea Curry

I love the idea of a crock pot. I love the idea of coming home to a fragrant house and a meal ready to eat. I love knowing that there will be minimal clean-up. Here’s what I don’t love: a crock-pot recipe that is fussy, has you sautéing onions at 5:30am, requires additional work 3 hours later, and then more work a few hours after that. Seems to defeat the purpose of using a crock-pot. I’m a fan of the “dump and go” approach to using a crock-pot.

I came across this recipe the other week and have already used it 3 times. It is fast, easy, nutritious, and most important – it is delicious! So good even, that my son Ben helped me make it for a pot-luck dinner he was going to.

I wish I could take credit for this, but I can’t. Full credit goes to the site “Tasty Yummies”. I myself am working on a sweet potato soup recipe, but my taste team has not given me the green light to share. Apparently it needs some work. I’m hoping by next week it is ready to share.

Here is the famous Butternut Squash and Chickpea Coconut Curry Recipe I have been talking about!

Butternut Squash & Chickpea Coconut Curry (Crock Pot Recipe)
serves 8

2 1/2 cups diced butternut squash
1 1/2 cups dried organic chick peas
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can organic coconut milk (you can use light here, I didn’t)
1 bunch of fresh spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped (you could also use kale here)
1 1/2 cups freshly shelled peas (you can use frozen here, if you wish)
1-2 large tomatoes, diced
3 cups vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoons yellow curry powder (you can use your own blend of spices here, I just happen to have a premixed curry powder from a local Indian grocery store that I love)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (save some for serving)

Rinse and sort through the dry chickpeas. Cut the skin off the squash, remove seeds and cut into 1 inch square cubes. Add all of the ingredients to your slow cooker besides the peas and spinach. Cook on high for 6 hours. About 20-30 minutes before serving add in the fresh peas and spinach, and give it a stir. If your sauce seems to be a bit too thin or watery when it is done cooking, you could make a quick mix of cornstarch and hot water and pour a tablespoon or two of the mixture into the crock pot, allow it to simmer a bit longer. This will thicken it right up.

Serve over brown basmati or jasmine rice topped with fresh cilantro, mint or basil and maybe even some shredded coconut.