Spatula Diaries: Sweet potato chickpea curry in three easy steps

The up-and-down, damp weather had me craving something stew-ish lately, but not something so heavy that it felt like fall or winter. I started dreaming about a curry with fresh sweet potatoes, chickpeas and veggies over couscous—the kind of stuff I used to eat way back, when I was a single grad student on a budget who didn’t have four other sets of taste buds to appease. But I figured, why not? My kids like Thai flavors, and they love sweet potatoes, so I foisted this yummy veggie curry on them. There are elements of creaminess, sweetness and tang thanks to the base of green curry paste and coconut milk. Hard not to like.

This is a pleasing spring dish with Louisiana sweet potatoes front and center. They might be harvested in the fall, but their long shelf life makes them seasonal year round. Modify the other veggies as you see fit. Add different spices or some heat if you like. Or try it over brown rice or quinoa.

Sweet potato chickpea curry

Serves 6

For sauce:

1 can light coconut milk
2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 one-inch piece peeled garlic

For veggies:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
½ cup chicken broth
1 red pepper, cut into medium chunks
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup fresh spinach
1 can chickpeas, drained

For couscous:

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 10-ounce box plain couscous

Steps:

In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk gently, then add next four ingredients. Simmer for about three minutes and turn off heat.
To a Dutch oven or large pot with a lid, add about a half-inch of water and bring to a simmer. Add sweet potatoes, cover and cook for 4 minutes. Add broth, return to simmer, and next four ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour curry sauce over veggie mixture and cook another 4-5 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked to your liking and the sauce is hot. Turn off heat.
To make couscous, bring broth to a boil in a small to medium lidded saucepan. Add couscous, stir and turn off heat. Cover and remove from burner. After five minutes, fluff with a fork.

To serve, mound the curry on top of the couscous and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor and the author of Hungry for Louisiana, an Omnivore’s Journey, released this month. Visit her at www.hungryforlouisiana.com and follow her on Twitter at @mhrwriter.