My quest for filling, healthy and low-carb recipes has been very rewarding and, dare I say, FUN. You don’t often equate diet food with fun (or much flavour) but that needn’t be the case. Cutting out the big white carbs (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta) has led me to flirt with the Paleo diet but the flirtation has not graduated to full-blown love affair, mostly because making drastic diet changes affects the way the whole family eats and I am not quite prepared for that. So I guess I am Paleo-light or Paleo-when-it-damn-well-suits and I am happy with that!
The diet, and especially the exercise, are on a mini-break this week as my 4 year old somehow got the croup (!) which was freaking scary. I only know about the croup from repeatedly reading Anne of Green Gables but certainly never thought I would have any dealings with it outside the pages of a book… and boy was I wrong! Poor Sam has had a pretty horrid couple of days but I am (cautiously) declaring him on the mend. No more colds or illnesses this winter please we have had our fair share!
has had so much use lately I really can’t picture cooking without it. One day I would love a full set of Le Creuset pots it’s really quite amazing the difference they make to the simplest of dishes. A large casserole is especially useful when cooking meat as you can brown it all at once without fear of stewing it (which tends to happen if you crowd meat in a small pan).The ground almonds and coconut milk make this curry so thick and satisfying you really won’t miss the rice but you could of course serve with with some basmati rice if you aren’t counting the calories. This tastes even better the day after you make it when the flavours have a chance to develop.
One-pot beef curry with spinach & cauliflower
Ingredients
- 3 onions peeled and chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves peeled and crushed
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger sliced thinly
- 2 tsp mild curry powder
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp hot chilli powder
- 1 tsp palm sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 900 g | 2lbs braising steak cubed
- 450 g | 1lb cauliflower florets about 1/2 medium cauliflower
- 1 x400g 14oz can coconut milk
- 3 heaped tbsp ground almonds
- 3 large handfuls fresh baby spinach leaves
- handful coriander cilantro leaves to garnish
- 2 tbsp flaked coconut to garnish
- salt and pepper to season
- coconut oil to fry or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a large casserole dish. Once the oil is hot add the onions, garlic, palm sugar and all the spices and stir together for 5 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Increase the heat and add the beef, stirring to brown all over. Season with a little salt and add the coconut milk. Bring to the boil and add the cauliflower florets (in fairly large chunks).
- Lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally so the food doesn't stick (add a little hot water if it is sticking).
- Add the ground almonds and stir them in. Add the spinach on top and cover the dish again. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the spinach is wilted. Take off the heat and rest for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and check the seasoning. Serve with a scattering of fresh coriander leaves and flaked coconut.
Christine says
I had such high hopes for this dish, but it fell flat. What specific cut of beef did you use? Perhaps that was the problem.
Lucy Parissi says
Oh I am sorry to hear that! Was it the taste or the texture that was disappointing? I find with curries and anything that cooks slowly braising (chuck) steak is good but I have also used brisket sliced up.
Anonymous says
Ya'll this was SO good! I did exactly as described and my family went nuts over it! The only thing I forgot were the coconut flakes and they were not even missed. I used brown and black rice as a side. Just pinned it so I wouldn't forget about this awesome recipe!
Lucy Parissi says
Thanks so much for stopping by to comment! Very much appreciated and so glad you liked the recipe. It's definitely comfort food season!
jennie // scarletscorchdroppers says
I made this for dinner tonight, and it went down very well with all the family! We went to a wedding at the weekend, and rather over did the eating and the champagne consumption…. everyone was thrilled to have something a little healthier, but still felt lovely, warming and comforting. I'm sure it will be come a recipe that gets added to the regular meal rotation. Thank you 🙂
Jennie
http://www.scarletscorchdroppers.com
belleau kitchen says
when I was on the Atkins diet I fell in love with cauliflower… it's such a brilliant vegetable for taking the place of potato… this curry looks divine and i'm tempted to make a curry tonight… i'm just so sleepy at the moment so it's doubtful it will happen but i'll just stare at these pics instead. x
[email protected] says
The curry looks positively glorious! I am putting it on my "to cook" list. The day of the horrid diet has arrived at my house and it is today so will be attempting to blog much lighter meals as well. So sorry about Sam, I can't even imagine how scary it is to watch your kid not being able to breathe properly! I do hope with you he is on the mend.
Jen-Emily Loving says
I love this dish! And yes… I totally agree… everything is good in moderation, I mean what would life be without all the things we love plus a little eating healthy thrown in the mix! 🙂