Autumn Sunday (with Hunt-the-Chicken Curry Recipe!)

We did a gorgeous walk yesterday.  It was a lovely Autumn day, all blue skies and little fluffy white clouds, with remnants of purple heather on the hills and the trees turning from dark green to tan and gold.  In the evening the most amazing thing happened.  To the right of us the sun was setting in bands of liquid gold behind the other-worldly contours of Blakey Ridge.  To the left of us, dead opposite, a perfect harvest moon was the most delicate of whites against the drained-lavender sky.  We watched, awe-struck, for several minutes, until the gold of the sunset had turned pink and the moon started to shine pale-gold against a darker sky.

Today it's another kind of perfect Autumn day.  It's grey, drizzly and squally - perfect for pottering about in the kitchen with the radio on, making huge batches of hearty food for the week ahead. 

Cooking is the the one domestic job that I whole-heartedly love - in fact it wouldn't be unfair to say it's the one domestic job that I actually do - and today I'm cooking my current favourite recipe, Hunt-the-Chicken Curry, plus Ratatouille and Lentil, Leek and Carrot soup. 

I've been asked for my Hunt-the-Chicken Curry recipe so, without further ado, here it is.

Hunt-the-Chicken Curry

I can't actually take credit for this recipe, seeing as it's the tikka sauce that makes it, and that comes from Tesco, but the rest is my invention.  It's the sort of recipe that you can adjust infinitely though - replace the butternut squash with aubergine and add mushrooms for example, or use potatoes, carrots and swedes in the Winter (and brussels sprouts - when I lived in Nottingham my friend Lindsay and I used to have a curry from the same takeaway and much wine every Friday night, and Linds' veggie curry used to have brussels sprouts in it.  And they were very nice).

You will need:

1tsb olive oil
1 onion
2 big courgettes or one marrow
1 butternut squash
1 jar Tesco's finest Tikka Paste
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
A big fat chicken breast.  I use Tesco's Finest free-range corn-fed chicken breasts as they're huge and tasty.  They usually weigh in at about 250g.
A tin of chickpeas

I forgot the chicken in this photo!

1. Cut up the onion and fry in the olive oil - just a low heat.

2. While the onions are frying, cut up the courgettes and butternut squash into bite-sized chunks.  When you've finished doing this the onions should have softened nicely.  Chuck the courgettes and butternut squash in the pot and soften for five minutes or so.  Cut up the chicken while you're waiting.
 

3. I don't like frying the meat first when I cook stews, as little bits of meat stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, so I added my chicken at this stage.  Chuck it in and stir everything around until the meat is sealed.

4. Add the tikka paste and stir.  Then add boiling water from the kettle.  I rinse out the tikka paste jar to get every last drop of flavour!  Use just enough water to cover the veg.

5. Cover to bring to the boil, then simmer.  When it's been simmering for about half an hour add the chickpeas.  Simmer for another half an hour or so until the butternut squash is tender.

Makes four big portions at a grand total of 6 Weight Watchers points each and - I worked it out - costs £1.59 per portion.  Result! 

I don't tend to eat this curry straight away, as reheating seems to improve the flavours, especially after freezing.  When I reheat it, I put it in a saucepan and, when it's hot through and through and bubbling, I put a big handful of spinach on top and put the lid on the saucepan.  I let the spinach steam for a couple of minutes and then stir it in.  It just adds that final touch, not to mention bulking it out to make it even more filling and nutritious.

It may surprise some people - especially if they gave birth to me and had to put up with me through the teenage years - but I'm a very tidy cook. 

While I was making my curry, I also made ratatouille.  I'm slightly obsessed with this at the moment.  I eat it with halloumi or venison burgers (I LOVE venison burgers), wholewheat pasta and green veg.  I used a Delia Smith recipe.

The first step is to salt your courgettes and aubergines.  You have to slice them, sprinkle salt on them and then rest a plate and a heavy weight on them.

I do it in layers, first the aubergines and then the courgettes.

Do you like my weight?!  If you're not lucky enough to have an artist/carpenter husband and a home that looks like a studio/workshop you will have to improvise with something more commonly found in a kitchen!

After about an hour, the bitterness and the excess water willl have sweated out.

I wipe the salt off with kitchen roll, then rinse the veg in a colander. 

Then you fry your onions for ten minutes on a low heat, then add the peppers for five minutes.  Delia says to use green and red, but I used orange and yellow today.

Then add the aubergines and courgettes.  If you are using your largest cooking pot to make curry it might be a bit of a squeeze!  Just put the lid on and let all the veg sweat down a bit.

Then add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and give it a stir. 

Simmer, covered, on a low heat for about 45 minutes.  It goes delicious and squidgy and juicy.

Then enjoy contemplating the fruits of your labours!

After/whilst making my curry and ratatouille I also cooked lunch for two - salmon en croute, potatoes, green beans and broccoli for him, venison burger, wholewheat fusilli, ratatouille, green beans and broccoli for me, and then Alastair said that if I made him a coconut cake he'd do the cleaning.  Naturally, I agreed with alacrity!  We had pudding about an hour later when the cake was ready - he had cake and custard and I had a Weight Watchers pudding of crumpet with a teaspoon of honey poured over and topped with 0% fat Greek youghurt (still obsessed...), a kiwi fruit, raspberries and blackberries.  It was delicious - the crumpet was like an extra-fluffy pancake.  Then I had an afternoon nap - a nice treat after a 12-15 mile walk yesterday and my cooking marathon.

Only the lentil soup to do now, and it's bubbling away nearly finished...what a lovely Sunday!