I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten anything containing a can of coconut cream that I didn’t like. So this recipe really feels a bit like cheating because not only does it have an entire can of coconut cream, it also is choc full of baby potatoes, and I’m also not sure I’ve ever eaten anything containing potatoes that I didn’t like. Oh yes I did! In Morocco last year, I had a dish called, mysteriously ‘potatoes three ways’.

Now imagine you have a potato, and you have the delightful task of presenting it in three delicious ways. You could roast them with salt and vinegar, fry them into glorious crisp little cubes with garlic and rosemary, mash them with butter and cheese, there are - if not limitless - many, many good options. Instead, I got this kind of miscellaneous sludge that wasn’t quite mash and wasn’t quite soup and didn’t really taste of anything in particular, topped with a sort of tough and rubbery chip that wasn’t quite baked and wasn’t quite fried and wasn’t good at all. I’m not even sure what the third way with potatoes was now I come to think about it…

Anyway! Enough of that! THIS recipe is a creamy coconut dream, and the potatoes are fluffy clouds swimming in a golden turmeric garlic sauce. It’s a very mild curry, in fact, I’m not sure if it would even qualify as a curry (??) but it is delicious and would go beautifully with something really spicy (I recommend my Green Lentil Dhal with Roast Butternut Pumpkin).

Split Pea, Potato and Spinach Coconut Curry

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1 cup yellow split peas (dry)

2 cups stock

1 x 400ml can coconut cream

6 cloves of garlic (left whole)

1/4 tsp salt

8 baby potatoes, halved (and not peeled)

2 cups of roughly shredded silverbeet

A handful of fresh coriander and 1-2 large red chillies (to garnish)

Steamed rice and papadums (to serve)

Note: This curry goes really wonderfully with my recipe for Green Lentil Dhal with Roast Butternut Pumpkin! I fully recommend making both - they take about the same time, taste so great together and you’ll end up with lots of tasty leftovers for lunch the next day!

Method

Put the split peas, stock, coconut cream, garlic and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then add the baby potatoes. Reduce to moderate heat and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes.

Have a taste of the curry to make sure the split peas are nice and soft, and add extra salt to taste if desired. Check that the potatoes are soft all the way through too. Once the potatoes and split peas are cooked through, stir through the shredded silverbeet until it turns a bright green and wilts.

Dish into bowls immediately while piping hot. Top with a handful of fresh coriander and the red chillies (finely diced). You can serve this dish alongside rice and papadams too if you like!

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