Vegetarian mains
Sweet & sour cashew stir-fry with cauli rice
Cauliflower ‘rice’ can be made by blitzing it in a food processor but we think the texture from hand-grating is just as good, if not better, if you use the coarse side of your grater. We’ve tossed it in aromatic curry powder to accompany the sweet and sour stir-fry with kecap manis (a slightly darker and sweet-sour soy sauce).
Cook's notes
Feel free to mix up the stir-fry veg, depending on what you have in the fridge.
Ingredients
- ½ cauliflower (if very small, use a little more)
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 red pepper
- 100g curly kale
- 1 carrot
- 1 small piece ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- 200g tin pineapple chunks + some juice
- ½ 400g tin dark lentils
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp kecap manis - add to taste
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 25g cashew nuts
- 1 lemon
- 15g coriander
Method
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Step 1
Preheat your oven to 200˚C/Gas 6. Strip the leaves off the cauliflower. Coarsely grate half the cauliflower, including the stalk, straight onto a large roasting tray. Toss with 1 tbsp of oil and the curry powder. Season. Spread out into an even layer. Keep aside.
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Step 2
Slice the pepper into thin rings. Strip the kale leaves off their tough, central stalk ribs. Bunch the leaves together. Chop them, quite thinly.
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Step 3
Peel and finely slice the carrot. Peel and finely grate the ginger and garlic. Tip the pineapple fruit and juice into a bowl. Drain, then rinse, the lentils in a sieve (you just need half a tin in this recipe).
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Step 4
In a small bowl, mix the cornflour, half the kecap manis pack, 3 tbsp of pineapple juice and the vinegar.
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Step 5
Put the cauliflower in the oven. Roast for 8 minutes, until warmed through and starting to colour.
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Step 6
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or large frying pan. Stir-fry the pepper, kale and carrot for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger and lentils (half the tin).
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Step 7
Add half the pineapple chunks and half the remaining juice from the bowl, together with the kecap manis mixture and cashews. Stir for 1-2 minutes, until the mix thickens slightly. Add more kecap manis, a squeeze of lemon, and more pineapple juice, all to taste. Season. There should be a balance of sweet, sharp and salty.
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Step 8
Remove the cauliflower from the oven. Serve it with the stir-fry, with freshly chopped coriander.