Roast Pumpkin with Curry Coconut Sauce

This dish is a cross of a braise, a soup, and something with a sauce. The liquid is cooked down until it starts to thicken, but it never gets very thick. The pumpkin is roasted in the oven, so it is not a braise, nor is it a soup. Whatever it is, it is good. Serve as a starter, or serve it over rice or noodles. You could add tofu to the soup along with other vegetables to make it more substantial, but I like the way this version lets the pumpkin sing out.

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium to small pumpkin, such as Winter Luxury, cut into 1½ inch chunks, skinned

1 small white or yellow onion, cut radially into ¼ inch strips

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced 3-4 times, keeping the root end intact

1 inch length of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly lengthwise, without cutting all the way through one end so they slices stay together

1 14-ounce can coconut milk, shaken well

8-12 ounces good quality vegetable stock (can use water if you do not have stock, but you will want more spices to boost flavor)

2-4 tablespoons “sweet” garam masala/curry powder*

1 teaspoon, or as needed, cinnamon powder (try for true, or Mexican, cinnamon)

3 cardamom pods, smacked with the flat of a knife

2-3 tablespoons Major Grey type chutney, or use apricot or peach jam (optional) **

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup cilantro stems and roots + ¼ cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

Optional; ¼-½ cup roasted lightly salted whole cashews or ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds, heaping ¼ cup dried sweetened coconut, cilantro oil for drizzling (see recipe on site)  

Neutral flavored oil as needed such as rice bran, grape seed, etc.

METHOD:

Heat oven to 400°F. Toss pumpkin in a non-reactive bowl with enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon garam masala and the cinnamon, and season with salt and pepper. Place on a sheet pan covered in foil with a little oil rubbed onto it, then place in the center of the oven. Cook until tender and turning golden brown on the outside, 15-25 minutes. When done, remove from the oven and keep warm until needed.

While the oven heats, get a 4 quart pot or chef’s pan hot over medium heat. Film well with oil, and when the oil is shivering, add the onions and toss to coat. Sauté, allowing the onions to brown a little and get tender. Add 1 tablespoon garam masala and the cardamom pods and stir into the oil. When it is aromatic, add the ginger and garlic to the pan, sautéing a little. When the ginger and garlic are fragrant, add the stock and bring to a boil.

While the stock comes to a boil, wrap the cilantro stems in cheesecloth or kitchen twine, then add it to the pot with the stock. Reduce the stock by 50%.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce by 25%. Season with salt and pepper, and then add the chutney or jam, and whisk really well to incorporate the chutney/jelly into the sauce. Taste the sauce for spice. If needed, add more garam masala, whisking well to blend it in. Reduce to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Taste, adjusting seasonings as needed. Cook until the sauce is reduced and slightly thicker than the coconut milk was to start. You should have around 2 cups liquid. Use a slotted spoon or chopsticks to fish out the roll of cilantro stems (push it against the side of the pot to squeeze any liquid out and get more cilantro extraction), ginger piece, and garlic clove. Pull the cardamom if you wish or be sure to warn people they are in there so they do not bite into them. (That could be way too much cardamom in one go.) This should all take around 20-25 minutes.

Be sure the pumpkin and the sauce are both hot. Get 4 bowls out and divide the pumpkin between them. For a more “restaurant” look, place three chunks of pumpkin in a triangle in the bottom of the bowl, then a single piece on top of that. Place cilantro leaves around and on the pumpkin stock/pile, then ladle the sauce/broth around the pumpkin. If using, scatter the nuts or seeds over and around the pumpkin, the coconut. If you have cilantro oil, add drops of it to the sauce so it floats. Season with a little salt and pepper and serve with spoons.

Chef’s Notes: The recipe looks long, but it is not really, and does not take too long to make. Once done it is a cinch to reproduce, and it is wide open to variations. * A “sweet” garam masala is usually what you get labelled curry powder. It is lighter in color and will have a scent redolent of fennel and maple, which is the fenugreek seed, which is what is used to make fake maple flavoring. Sweet garam masalas are not usually spicy, either. ** The chutney or jam bring sweetness and acid which is needed to add some depth to the coconut milk. If you wish to pass on the chutney/jam, you could add a little tamarind paste, but you might need to add something sweet to counter this. You could use spicy garam blends, add a split serrano to the sauce, or try adding other vegetables or chunks of tofu.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen