Roasted peach massaman with seasonal vegetables, peanuts & coriander

Usually, massaman curry is cooked with beef, chicken, lamb, goat or mutton. It is fried out and seasoned and then simmered along with the meat, until the meat is falling apart and the fats, reduced into the curry.

However, I feel massaman curry paste in particular, which is heavily packed with aromatic dry spices, is very delicious served without any meat as a vegan curry. Packed full of sweet and acidic fresh fruits, this is one of my favourite curries to put on the vegan menu at Farang, but just remember the heavy load of spices need to be simmered for the nicest finish.

Serves 2

GF optional / V

100ml vegetable oil / or coconut oil, plus a little extra to brush the peaches

100g massaman curry paste (I recommend our fresh Payst if living within the UK)

20g unsalted roasted peanuts, plus 5g chopped to garnish

2 tablespoons palm sugar (or soft dark brown sugar)

50ml soy sauce (seaweed sauce if avoiding gluten)

30ml tamarind

300ml vegetable stock

400ml coconut cream

150g new potatoes, cut in half

50g baby sweetcorn, cut in half lengthways

100g pineapple, peeled and roughly diced

10g, dried raisins

50g green beans, topped and tailed and cut in half

10g Thai sweet basil

2 peaches, hard and unripe if possible, halved and stoned

a pinch of sea salt and caster sugar

steamed jasmine rice, to serve

10g coriander leaves, to garnish

Pour the vegetable / coconut oil into a large, non-stick pan and place over a medium heat. Add the massaman curry paste and fry, stirring and scraping constantly using a metal spatula, to prevent the paste sticking to the bottom of the pan. After a few minutes, add the peanuts and fry for a further 15 minutes or so until the paste starts to darken and the mixture smells of one entity, rather than individual components.

Add the sugar and fry for a few minutes until it dissolves and begins to caramelise, you will know when this happens as the paste will darken further. At this stage, add the seaweed sauce, vegetable stock and half the coconut cream, and reduce the heat to allow the curry to simmer and the flavours to infuse for around 10-15 minutes to take the edge off of the dry spices. Next, add the potatoes and allow to gently simmer in the curry for about 10 minutes, then add the sweetcorn, raisins, pineapple and green beans and simmer for a further 8–10 minutes until all vegetables have reached the desired softness. Throw in the basil, tamarind and the remaining coconut cream just before serving.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200˚C/gas mark 6. Brush a little oil onto the cut surfaces of the peaches and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sugar. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown and softened. Remove and keep warm. Alternatively, (and preferable for me) brush the peaches with oil and barbecue them until soft and charred, then sprinkle with sugar and sea salt a few minutes before taking them off the heat.

Serve the peaches on top of the rice. Spoon over a large ladleful of curry, sprinkle with the coriander and garnish with some chopped peanuts. It should have dominant tastes of sweet and salty, with a hint of sourness and a suspicion of spice.