Recipe and photos by Kourtney Paranteau aka CuteMeatInc.
Has the winter chill infiltrated your taste buds yet? In my house it’s been nothing but broths and roasted chickens since the first day I pulled on a sweater. And the newest entry to my cold weather repertoire is this curry noodle stew with butternut squash cubes. The squash cubes are added at the end as an equal to the noodles, and sits in the delicious tomato and coconut broth, adding another layer of texture and flavor. The broth is thick and stew-like but this vegetarian dish won’t drag your evening down with it. You can also use kabocha, delicata or other winter squash.
Makes 4 Servings
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or ghee
5 garlic cloves minced
1 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 yellow onion, cubed
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 14-oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 14-oz can coconut cream
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
Curry leaves (optional)
1 12-ounce package Umi Organic ramen noodles
1/2 pound fried tofu (optional)
Kale chips (to garnish)
Finger limes or limes, cut into wedges (to garnish)
Cilantro leaves (to garnish)
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat butter over medium heat. Once melted, toss in garlic, ginger, and onion and cook until aromatic (about four minutes). Next, season your aromatics with salt, turmeric, fenugreek, coriander, and cumin. Stir. Increase the heat under your pot to medium-high and pour both tomatoes and coconut milk into the pot and cook until reduced by 1/4 (about fifteen minutes).
As your broth base cooks down, roast the squash until tender, about 25 minutes. While your squash cooks, bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.
Return to your pot of curry. Use a food processor or immersion blender to puree the broth until smooth. Return pot to stove. Pour in your vegetable broth in a steady stream, reduce your heat to medium-low, and simmer for a minimum of thirty minutes. If the broth begins to boil, decrease the temperature to low. Feel free to prepare broth a day ahead of time and reheat — the more time your ingredients have to mingle, the better the end result will be. Be sure to heat up the broth right, and add the optional curry leaves, before serving.
When ready to serve, tease apart the noodles. Drop the noodles into the boiling water. Start a timer for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally to loosen the noodles. When the timer rings, drain the noodles in the colander and shake out the water thoroughly.
Divide your cooked noodles and roasted squash cubes between four bowls. Cover with curry broth. Top with tofu, kale, cilantro and limes before serving.
Kourtney Paranteau (aka CuteMeat) was born and raised in Portland (okay, okay Beaverton), Oregon but spent a sunny stint in Los Angeles, where she ate her way through the San Gabriel Valley. Kourtney returned home to work in the food and beverage industry where she has met nearly all her friends and freelances as a recipe developer. Keanu Reeves' oeuvre plays in the background of every CuteMeat recipe for inspiration etc.
