Delicious Winter Supper...

Skye Gyngell's spicy tomato and chickpea curry topped with maple syrup and soy sauce, accompanied by a dijon mustard mash!

This is a really yummy vegetarian meal, either both together, or on their own.

We also had a delicious chocolate fondue made with Cru Virunga 70% Chocolate from Original Beans -

http://www.originalbeans.com/blog/

Just mixed with a few spoons of cream and a chunk of butter and it was lovely dipping fruit and brioche into it.

Here is a similar recipe for the chickpea dish:

Chickpea curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 600g/21oz dried chickpeas
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1tsp mustard seeds
• 1tsp fennel seeds
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp coriander seeds
• 5 cardamom pods
• 1tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 red onions, peeled and sliced
• 1 small bunch of coriander, roots included
• 1 red chilli
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3tbsp maple syrup
• The juice of two limes
• 3tbsp soya sauce
• Two jars of good-quality tomatoes
• 50g/2oz unsalted butter

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain and place in a large pot of cold water. Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Cook over a medium heat for around 45 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. To make the base of the curry, warm up the spices in a small pan, being careful not to burn them, as this will result in a bitter taste. Grind using a pestle and mortar.
3. Add the vegetable oil to a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients comfortably and place over a medium heat. When the oil is warm, add the onions and cook for five minutes to soften them. Chop the coriander and the chilli very finely and add to the pot along with the garlic and the spices.
4. Add the diced carrots and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the maple syrup, lime juice and soya sauce, stirring well to combine the flavours, and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomatoes and turn up the heat slightly. Cook for 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.
5. At this point it should taste hot, sweet and slightly sharp. Keep the pan over the heat until the carrots are cooked through but still firm. At this point, add the chickpeas and the butter.

And a similar one for the mash:

Dijon mustard mash

Ingredients

• 2kg large floury potatoes
• 150ml single cream
• 75g Butter
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• Salt

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place them in a large saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
2. Drain the potatoes well and mash until smooth, either with a traditional potato masher or in a blender.
3. Warm together the cream, butter and mustard in a small saucepan and pour into the mash, stirring with a wooden spoon until it is smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt, adding extra mustard if needed.