This is my ultimate delicious nutritious comfort food. It tastes so good, has so many interesting textures and fills and warms the tummy so well. The citrus element is what sets the flavours alight and I just love it. It’s great to cook for vegan friends or dairy/gluten free folk, so I like to whip it out if special dietary needs crop up.
Coconut Braised Citrus Stew
6 servings
Ingredients
Vegan version:
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 1 large golden sweet potato/kumara, diced
- 1 can coconut cream
- water
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
- 4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped fine (or zest of 1 lime)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 chopped hot red pepper or 1 tsp chilli flakes or ground chili (more to taste)
- 1 tsp salt
- Large bunch silverbeet/chard (or spinach), approx 500g/1 pound, chopped
For the “non vegan” version as above plus:
- 5 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cubed
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
Method
- Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion and cook until onion starts to brown
- Add coconut cream, fill the cream can with water and add to the pot, add chickpeas, sweet potato and heat until bubbling.
- Add garlic, ginger, lemon zest and juice, kaffir lime/lime zest, lime juice, chili (or pepper) and stir through
- For non vegan version, add chicken
- Add salt (and fish sauce for non vegan)
- Cover pot and allow to simmer for 10 minutes,
- Add the chopped silverbeet to the top. Cover and cook for a further five minutes before stirring the silverbeet through. The greenery will lose volume as it cooks, so may be added several batches if it won’t fit in the pot.
Season with additional salt, fish sauce and chili to taste. Ready to serve – it’s very liquid based so bowls required.
It could go further served over rice, but there are plenty of starchy carbs in this dish already with the chickpeas and sweet potato.
Garnish suggestions – toasted coconut, fresh chopped cilantro/coriander.