On my facebook page a few weeks ago, I shared a photo of a weekly prep session that I actually did with a gorgeous friend. We each had things we wanted to make and made them on own, while working along side each other chatting. Once we finished we divided up the results – it was not only a lot of fun, but so helpful in allowing me to get some great basics in the pantry/fridge.
My friend has a Thermomix and she made a vegetable stock and curry paste from scratch. Both were super tasty. Once thing I have learnt since I have started making as much food as I can from scratch is just how much difference to the flavour of dish good quality basics make to a dish.
This slow cooker sweet potato curry was amazing. Very rarely will I say that about something as basic as a slow cooker meal, but using stock and curry paste freshly made from scratch gave it flavours that made it so good to eat, it makes me smile writing the recipe up now weeks later!
Anyway, what I am really saying is, if you want this dish to taste awesome, even if you don’t want to make your own curry paste and stock, use the best available stock and paste you can. A local green grocer near me Wattle Park Green Grocer sells a beautiful stock concentrate which I have bought and used before. It is Vegan, Paleo, Low FODMAP and Gluten Free friendly. They have an online shop where you can buy it too. It comes in a large size, but you can easily freeze it in ice cube trays so you can extend the life of the product.
This meal is easy to cook. Simply gather the ingredients.
Chop and dice to prepare the ingredients.
You could skip this step if you wanted to, but the flavour of the dish would not be as great. I know some people say that slow cookers make everything bland and for some meals like this curry, if you just dumped it all in the slow cooker and let it cook, it would could perfectly well, but the flavours would be lacking. Taking the time to fry up the onion and spices first gives such a better result.
This is a big recipe. While I haven’t frozen it, I imagine it would freeze well otherwise if you are cooking for a smaller brood, you could half the quantities.
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 onion
- 1 ½ tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp curry paste
- 1.2kgs sweet potato (approx 2 large)
- 500 grams broccoli (approx two small heads)
- 250 grams carrots (approx 2 large)
- 400 grams diced canned tomatoes
- ¾ cup vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp turmeric paste (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 440mls coconut cream
- The first stage is the preparation stage. Finely chop the onion, grate the ginger and prepare the garlic for crushing.
- Cube the sweet potato into pieces roughly 1.5cm x 1.5 cm. Cut the broccoli into small pieces and dice the carrots.
- In a large pan, heat the coconut oil on a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes, then add ginger and crush garlic.
- Add sweet potato and stir for a couple of minutes. Add in the paste and stir for a minute, then add all of this to the slow cooker.
- Add broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable stock, salt and pepper to the slow cooker and give a gentle stir. I add some additional turmeric here. The flavour is lovely without it, but I need the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric so this is why I add extra.
- Cook on high for 6 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.
- minutes before serving, add the coconut cream. I like my curry thicker so only add the solid part and stir. Allow to heat through.
- Serve on a bed of rice.