OK, my food photography needs some work, but considering I took this in our dimly lit dining room while salivating profusely, it ‘aint bad.

I cooked such a yummy dinner yesterday evening I just had to share it with you all. My belly felt full for the first time since being struck down by this horrid flu and I had that smug afterglow that comes only from eating something that you know is really, really good for you.

The recipe comes from one of the many new cook books I was gifted this Christmas, the second LEON book called ‘Naturally Fast Food‘. I have the first book, I adore it, and have been lusting after the follow-up for a while. It doesn’t disappoint, there is so much I want to make from this book and it makes for great read over a cuppa too.

This was very easy to prepare, filled the house with delicious, comforting smells and was a winner with both children. I have copied the recipe as is for you here but I’ll also fill you in on how I tweaked it a little for our tastes.

You will need:
1 onion
1tbsp sunflower oil
4 cloves garlic
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger
2 tsp ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on how hot you like it
1 level tsp turmeric
1x400g tin of chopped tomatoes
4 sweet potatoes (not the giant ones)
1 cauliflower
1x400g tin of coconut milk
100g cashew nuts
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Peel the onion, roughly chop and fry gently in the oil in a large saucepan for 5 minutes. Peel and grate the garlic and ginger, add to the pan and fry for 1 minute. Add the spices and cook for a further 2 minutes until they are fragrant. As I was serving this to the children I opted for only a very scant 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, I’d definitely add more if they weren’t eating with us.

2. Add the tomatoes, and the peeled and cubed sweet potatoes. You’ll probably notice how chunky I leave the veg. Jesse still has a habit of choosing his hands over cutlery so I try and keep things nice and grabable for him. Anyway, cook for about 30 minutes, adding water if it seems to be drying out (it really didn’t seem as if there was enough liquid at this point but I stuck to the recipe and only had to add a couple of small glugs from the kettle while it cooked).

3. Divide the cauliflower into florets and add them to the pan with the coconut milk. Put the lid on and simmer for around 8 minutes, or until soft.

4. Meanwhile, gently toast the cashew nuts in a dry frying pan.

5. Season to taste and add the nuts just before serving. I also stirred through a bag of young leaf spinach because I like to try and have something green with every meal. You could also add some chopped coriander or peas. Dig in!

Mmmmmm… it was so delicious! I LOVE sweet potato, I think it may be my favourite vegetable. I sent Mr. LA off to work this morning with the left-overs for his lunch which felt very satisfying. Anything to stop him living off cuppa soups from the vending machine.

Did you get any good cook books for Christmas? Discovered any fabulous new recipes recently?

Loveaudrey xxx