Southeast Asian Squash Curry

My first post-hospital meal was a success! This recipe stemmed from a need to use up some squash and a craving for Thai food. As an added bonus, this recipe called for greens, spinach to be exact, but I figured baby yellow swiss chard would be an excellent substitute. I added some chicken to the recipe because we had some thawed and the boy seems to prefer having animal flesh in his meals, but I don't think it added much to the meal, so I'm posting the recipe without the chicken. If you do want to include, I would brown it before or with the squash and put it into the curry at the same time as the squash. I removed the extra water in the recipe. Finally, I used yellow curry paste instead of red because not only was my refrigerator out of red, but so was the grocery store. I would recommend using either one.

One year ago: Chinese Beef with Broccoli
Two years ago: Easy Buttermilk Cake

Southeast Asian Squash Curry (from epicurious, originally Gourmet)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
680g butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (do not stir), divided
2 heaping tablespoons red or yellow curry paste
1 (2- to 3-inch) cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
140g baby spinach (or baby yellow swiss chard)
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce, or to taste
1/4 cup salted roasted cashews, chopped

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sauté squash with cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt until beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet and cook onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add 1/4 cup coconut milk from top of can and cook, stirring, until fat starts to separate and look glossy, about 2 minutes.
4. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
5. Add squash, water, cinnamon, cloves, and remaining coconut milk and simmer, covered, until squash is tender, about 8 minutes.
6. Stir in spinach and cook, covered, until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Stir in fish sauce.
8. Sprinkle with cashews.