Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash in Coconut-Curry Sauce with Mock Cauliflower Pilau

That's a very long name for such a simple meal. I know, I am working on it. Till then I can tell you all about my rediscovered obsession with Jamie Oliver. For someone that comes from a rich culture with exciting food such as the Turkish one and its arabic/oriental/mediterranean cuisine, it is funny to see a British cook to succeed as much as Jamie Oliver did. No offense but the brits do not have a lot to offer compared to the turks - in regard of food and dining. Well, at least that is what I thought before I purchased and read Jamie Olivers cook books. He really knows how to sell a great cook book: simple recipes that always turn out great and cool pictures & storytelling about his roadtrips - what more could you possible want? I mean look at his book on the American cuisine - he's basically Jack Kerouac of the food industry.

So I prepared this simple meal inspired by the latest Jamie Oliver episode on sixx that was on the telly the other day. It's easy to do and tasts great thanks to the honey and large amount of coconut milk.  This dish is a nice idea for a veggie day which was really overdue at the Öztürks after having had fish, scallops, minced meat, steak and more the last couple of days.

Here goes the recipe for roasted sweet potatoes with honey and olive oil, butternut squash in coconut & curry sauce with cauliflower rice.

Roasted sweet potatoes

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch pieces

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of honey

salt and pepper

Put oven on 190° Celsius (375° Fahrenheit). Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place sweet potato cubes on paper.

Sprinkle with oil and honey and add salt (stick to using sea salt only) and pepper. Mix well and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Cauliflower rice

Ingredients

1 whole cauliflower, removed from green leaves & chopped coarsely

balsamic vinegar

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt

Using a food processor (we just bought this beauty in beige) pulse cauliflower until they are reduced to the size of couscous. Put the cauliflower in the serving bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Give it a goood stirr and serve cold.

Butternut Squash in Coconut-Curry Sauce

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

1 chive of garlic, sliced

1/2 butternut squash

1 tablespoon of curry paste

1 package of Knorr "Kräuter&Gewürze pur" curry

1 can of coconut milk (400 ml)

1/2 can of water (200 ml)

salt, pepper

olive oil

Put sliced garlic and chopped onions in a pan with some olive oil on medium to low heat. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add butternut squash, curry and curry paste. Mix with wooden spoon and increase heat. Add coconut milk and water. Let it come to a boil and then simmer for another 15-20 minutes (until the squash pieces are soft). Add desired amount of salt and pepper.

You can play around with this recipe as you like. Next time I'd like to add some chili to the coconut-curry sauce. Right of Jamie Oliver's cook book I would slice the chilies into half, remove the grains and add to pan before any other ingredient makes it way in. The olive oil gets a spicy kick (put on low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan) but the dish at the end is enjoyable hot and juuuust right. For those of you who like the hot stuff: cut the chilies into little slices and add to the sauce - it will burn your brains out!

Finally I leave you with a collection of dirty words by Jamie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiEjs7deHL4

Enjoy, you guys!