Is it a soup or is it a curry? Who cares – I absolutely love the combination of Thai flavours and lentils with creamy coconut milk and zesty lime!
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
⅓ cup olive oil
½ head cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 large kūmara, peeled and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons fish sauce (substitute with 1 teaspoon of sea salt to be vegan)
½ cup Thai yellow curry paste
1 cup good-quality vegetable or chicken stock
400ml coconut milk
2 makrut lime leaves
1 cup red split lentils
3 cups spinach leaves
TO SERVE
⅓ cup roughly chopped roasted peanuts
limes
flat breads
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
Toss the cauliflower and kūmara with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and roast 20-25 minutes or until almost caramelised and golden. Set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a large pot or deep frying pan and add the onion. Cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic, ginger, fish sauce and curry paste and stir to combine. Add the stock, coconut milk and lime leaves, bring to a simmer then add the lentils and cook together for 20 minutes. Add the kūmara, cauliflower and spinach and cook together for a final 5 minutes, then serve immediately with chopped nuts, lime halves for squeezing and flatbreads.

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