Coconut milk Curry by Oz Telem

Oz Telem is the king of vegetables, so when I wanted to find a new recipe glorifying spinach, my favorite vegetable, he was my first phone call.

Spinach and I, a love story

We met at a farmer’s market where he explained to me the importance of buying seasonal, and local.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables produced on local farms are often fresher, as they do not require long distances for transport. Also, unlike out-of-season produce which is harvested early in order to be shipped and distributed to your local retail store, crops picked at their peak of ripeness are also better tasting and full of flavor. fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients when allowed to ripen naturally on their parent plant.

When buying local asides from supporting the local economy, you minimize the carbon footprint increased by transporting imported food as well as the packaging used for shipping.

Luckily, Israel has amazing local seasonal fruits and vegetables and we picked up Spinach as well as Chard, which despite being from a different family, has a lot of the same qualities, is juicier, and often cheaper. Spinach is however higher in protein and all nutrients.

Anyway… to the food!
We made a very quick and simple, hearty coconut milk curry, with spinach, chickpea, and mushrooms (another awesome vegetable!)

All you’ll need!

Ingredients;

1 spoon of coconut oil

3 peeled and chopped garlic cloves

Small piece of Ginger, peeled and chopped

1-2 packages of mushrooms – your favorite type; we went for white button and portobello, sliced about ½ cm wide

A cup of premade chickpeas

A handful of spinach

1-2 spoons of soy sauce

1 cup coconut milk

A teaspoon of your curry powder; option to mix with other spices such as Baharat, Hawaij, etc.

Pinch of salt

Half a spoon of lemon juice

Heat up the oil ginger and garlic in a wide flat pan over a high flame until the wonderful smell takes over – about two minutes, be careful not to burn.

Add the mushrooms and fry for about two minutes until they soften. Add the spice blend, mix well and then add the soy sauce and cook until almost all liquids evaporate. Add the chickpeas and coconut cream and boil.

Add the spinach but make sure to turn it off within less than a minute when it’s still a beautiful green.

Serve with your favorite rice.