Fair Food Champion Penny Thompson shares her delicious choko, carrot and shiitake mushroom curry with us – perfect for the colder days!
Choko’s, grown on a climbing plant, are available in the autumn months. Their mild and versatile flavour (smilar to a zucchini or cooked apple) makes them a great addition to stir fries, stuffed with other fillings or in curries such as this one! Chokos are a great source of vitamins and minerals, making them a tasty and nutritious part of your meal.
To get your hands onto some of Penny’s Backyard grown choko’s, head to the Wollongong Online Farmers Market.
Ingredients:
- 2 small young chokos (skin on, seeded) sliced thinly, or one large choko (peeled, seeded and sliced thinly)
- 2 carrots -peeled and sliced thinly
- 6 shiitake mushrooms sliced finely
- 1 tablespoon of curry paste e.g. Thai red curry paste (*If you don’t like curry, then omit this)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup tomato passata
- 1 cup water
- Salt to taste
- Green herbs to garnish e.g. coriander, parsley, chives etc.
(Note: for extra protein add 1 can drained & rinsed chickpeas, or 1.5 cups cooked chicken)
Method:
- Add olive oil to heavy bottom pan, fry curry paste and mushrooms lightly on medium heat, add other vegetables, keep stirring, and cook a few minutes until starting to soften.
- Add in water and tomato passata, (if adding protein, eg. chickpeas or chicken, add now). Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Add salt to taste.
- Serve with white or brown basmati rice, garnished with fresh green herbs.
