Eggplant Curry Stew

The inaugural post! Hurrah! Much like my blog, this recipe may not be the prettiest thing anyone’s ever made but it’s tasty, healthy, and made with love.

I love stews, curries, and non-traditional chilies with a passion. They’re comforting and excellent for keeping as leftovers, since they continue to develop their flavors as they hang out in the fridge. Now, I’m not following the paleo diet by any stretch of the imagination (I desperately love cheese), but I have a lot of friends who do. I also know a lot of them struggle to find new and creative ways to keep paleo while maintaining taste. The only thing un-paleo about this recipe is the olive oil, which you can easy sub out for your paleo cooking fat of choice (ghee, perhaps?).

Ingredients

• 2 decently sized eggplants (or 4-5 small ones)
• 4 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 scallions, sliced thin
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2-1 tsp. cumin (it’s a strong flavor, so use at your discretion – I used the full teaspoon but I adore cumin)
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper (not essential, but quite tasty)
• 4 very ripe and juicy tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400*, wrap your eggplants in foil, and throw them in the oven for about an hour (or until they feel quite soft if you’ve got the small ones). While you’re waiting, prep the rest of your ingredients.

Ready for action!

Once the eggplant has cooked, pull it out of the foil and wait for it to cool before halving and scooping out the guts. Mash up the eggplant in a bowl and put it on stand-by for the end of the cooking.

In your (at least it was my) biggest skillet, heat up the olive oil/paleofat over medium heat and soften the garlic for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms, scallions, and chili flakes and cook until the mushrooms have browned slightly and softened.

Sizzle sizzle.

Sprinkle all the powdered spices over the mushrooms and mix them up, then keep cooking for a few more minutes. Because the spices have stuck to the mushrooms, they’ll mix in to the final stew much more evenly than if you just bunged them in with the rest. Once your kitchen smells sufficiently awesome, add the chopped tomatoes with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and simmer them until the liquid is bubbling and delicious. Finally, add the eggplant and coconut milk and let it all come together for about 10 minutes. Serve the tasty result by itself or over rice, quinoa, or even pasta. Mmmm, leftovers!!

Stew-pendous! (told you I liked puns…)