Vegetable Thai green curry recipe

Vegetable Thai green curry is a really easy homemade curry that will make you forget about buying ready-made green curry sauce from the supermarket - it's simple to make and tastes delicious. As an added bonus, the paste also freezes brilliantly so you can easily double or triple the quantities and save it for next time. This vegetable Thai green curry is a really nice option if you're trying to eat less meat, and the butternut squash, the asparagus and mushrooms really make it quite filling, without weighing you down. It's a really great choice midweek supper choice, that's perfect served with jasmine rice. If you're short on time, you can cheat and use microwavable rice - it's a great way to cut a corner!

Ingredients

• 250g jasmine rice
• Vegetable or groundnut oil
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
• 100g button mushrooms
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 350ml vegetable stock
• 250g asparagus (bottoms removed), cut into 2cm pieces
• 150g mange tout
• Lime wedges, to serve

For the green curry paste:

• 3 lemon grass stalks (hard outer layer removed)
• 2.5cm cube of fresh ginger, peeled
• 3 green chillies
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 shallots
• 50g coriander, plus extra to serve
• 2 pieces of lime rind
• 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• A small drizzle of vegetable or groundnut oil

Method

1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet.
2. Meanwhile, blitz all the paste ingredients in a food mixer until you get a pesto-like consistency.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and cook the squash for 5 to 6 minutes or until it starts to soften a little. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Add in 4 tablespoons of the green curry paste and mix it well, then add the coconut milk and stock. Bring the sauce to the boil, then turn down the heat and leave it to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add in the asparagus pieces and the mange tout and cook for a further 5 minutes, until all the vegetables are nice and soft. If your rice seems to be ready before the curry, simply drain it in a colander and cover it with a dry kitchen cloth while the curry finishes off for a few minutes.
6. Right at the end, mix in some fresh coriander leaves and serve the curry on the jasmine rice with the lime wedges.