Curried Butternut and Coconut Gratin | Ottolenghi

Any time when you find a recipe for a baked curry, you should give it a try. I made a similar baked chicken curry a while back, and I really like the taste, methodology and ease of preparation. It might look like you’ve spent a whole day making the curry. Therefore, when the time comes I need to whip up a vegetarian curry in a hurry for lunch, I reach for the curried butternut and coconut gratin from Yotam Ottolenghi. Boy, I make it in a big 6-quart Dutch oven; it’s almost all gone. Scoop up this flavorful curry with naan, no one is talking as everyone’s busy eating.

Besides the prep work of cutting and slicing the butternut squash and make the curry mixture and toppings, the oven does most of the cooking. No watching the simmering pot and tasting the curry as you go along. While the curry gratin is in the oven, you have time to focus on making the coconut toppings and chili oil garnishes. Notably, these finishing steps are what separate the ordinary from the extraordinary chef-like touches that keep you wanting more. The time management aspect of making the curry gratin works — for the homecook, as well as, for the taste of the dish. I’ll make it again!

I question why the recipe calls for cutting the butternut squash in 2-3 mm slices, preferably with a mandoline. By all measures, these are very thin pieces. They convert into 1/8 of an inch which makes it difficult to cut by hand. However, I’ve learned not to second-guess Ottolenghi given his substantial record of writing recipes accurately and deliciously. So I comply. As it turns out, baking thin slices of butternut in a high-temperature (425°F) oven for an hour changes the texture of the squash from a solid state to a paste. The curry flavor melds with the squash and turns the gratin into a yummy spread of goodness. Stuff it on some naan bread. It satisfies the inner child in me, eating with my fingers.

Don’t want to oversell a quick curry which this gratin is. The flavor, by and large, depends on the quality of the curry powder you’re using. A store bought shelf-stable curry powder is no match to a freshly ground curry spice mix (consisting of cumin, coriander, turmeric, mustard seeds, fennel, fenugreek, etc.) plus a paste made with fresh aromatics (of ginger, garlic, onion, lemon grass, chili). I’ve always found it advantageous to ground my own spices and paste when I need to impress my eaters. Well, I don’t feel the urge to go that extra mile today. Frankly, there are more important things in life in this lockdown season during an election year!

Print Recipe

Curried Butternut and Coconut Gratin

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• For the curry mixture:
• 1 x 400ml can full-fat coconut milk (reserve 2 tbsp to serve)
• 1 banana shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 15g piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 1 tbsp medium curry powder
• ¾ tbsp tomato paste
• Salt
• 1 large butternut squash, halved, seeds scooped out and discarded or saved for toasting, then cut widthways into 2-3 mm or 1/8 inch slices – use a mandoline, if you have one (850g net weight)
• For the coconut toppings:
• 30g coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• For the aromatic oil:
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large chilli, cut into thin rounds
• 15 fresh curry leaves (ie, from 1-2 sprigs)
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Instructions

1

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C convection)/425°F. Put the first six ingredients in a blender with a teaspoon and a half of salt and blitz smooth. Arrange the squash slices in a round, 28cm (11inch) cast-iron pan or baking dish, then pour over the curry coconut milk mixture.

2

In a small bowl, mix the coconut flakes with the maple syrup and a good pinch of salt, and set aside.

3

Cover the cast-iron pan or dish with foil, bake for 60 minutes, then remove the foil, drizzle over the oil, cover with the coconut flake mix and bake for 10 minutes more. Turn the oven to a high grill setting, then grill for four or five minutes, until nicely browned on top.

4

While the gratin is baking, make the topping. Put the oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chilli and fry for 90 seconds, swirling the pan so it doesn’t catch, then add the curry leaves and fry for another 30 seconds, until the leaves are crisp (careful, they might spit). Strain the chilli and curry leaves through a sieve set over a heatproof bowl to collect the oil.

5

Drizzle the aromatic oil and the reserved two tablespoons of coconut milk over the gratin, then sprinkle on the chilli and curry leaves and serve with the lime wedges for squeezing over.

Notes

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/oct/10/yotam-ottolenghi-recipes-for-autumn-traybakes