Winter is the perfect time to get into the kitchen and whip up some delicious, nourishing and warming recipes. Let’s face it, the winter here on the Sunshine Coast is quite mild and doesn’t last all that long! All the better reason really to make the most of this time of the year.

There are a lot of delicious fruits and vegetables in season during winter. These include:
-Apples
-Lemons
-Oranges
-Rhubarb
-Beetroot
-Broccoli
-Brussel Sprouts
-Cauliflower
-Fennel
-Onions
-Parsnip
-Pumpkin
-Turnip
-Kale

This week we are sharing with you a delicious Jackfruit Curry recipe. Jackfruit has become quite popular and offers a great meat alternative due to its consistency. You can find tinned jackfruit in any supermarket or health food store and its mild flavor means that it is perfect in curries where it can absorb all the delicious flavors and spices.

This recipe utilizes some of those great winter seasonal ingredients including pumpkin, onion and kale.

You can make this curry mild or spice it up with extra chili. Its perfect served with some steaming rice or quinoa and topped with a dollop of coconut yogurt and extra coriander.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin & Jackfruit Curry

• 1 brown onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 inch fresh ginger grated
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
• ¼ large pumpkin chopped (around 2 cups)
• ½ cup dry red lentils
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1.5 cups tinned jackfruit drained and roughly shredded
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup chopped kale
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to season

Start by adding the olive oil to a warm saucepan and adding the onion and garlic and ginger. Fry for a couple of minutes over a medium heat and then add the spices. Cook for another minute as the spices release their aroma.

Add the pumpkin, jackfruit and red lentils and stir to coat in the spices, then add the stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the pumpkin is cooked- around 20 minutes.

Add the kale, coconut milk, coriander, tamari and nutritional yeast and stir well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with freshly cooked rice or quinoa and if you please, top with coconut yogurt and extra coriander and chili.