Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free
SERVES 4
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES, PLUS 8 HOURS TO SOAK / COOK TIME: 35 MINUTES
Cashews are the secret ingredient in this dish. When they’re soaked, then blended into a sauce, they create a rich, creamy, and health-promoting addition to the recipe. In order to be pureed, they need to be soaked for 8 hours or overnight. If you soak them for a shorter period of time, your sauce will just have larger pieces of cashew and be less creamy. Consider serving this dish over a bed of brown rice.
½ cup cashews
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 zucchini, cut into half moons
½ large yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 (13½-ounce) can light coconut milk
2 mangos, peeled and diced, divided
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and diced
Bioactive ingredients:
cashew, olive oil, bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, mango, chicken
1.
Put the cashews in a medium saucepan, and cover with water. Soak for 8 hours or overnight.
2.
After the cashews have soaked, to make the sauce, in a large pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
3.
Add the bell peppers, zucchini, and onion. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, or until starting to soften.
4.
Add the garlic and ginger. Sauté for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.
5.
Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
6.
Add the vinegar, coconut milk, cashews, and half of the mango. Bring to a boil.
7.
Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken and the mango is very soft. Remove from the heat.
8.
Pour the sauce into a blender, or keep it in the pan and use an immersion blender. Puree until smooth and creamy, then return the sauce to the pan.
9.
Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the chicken, and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken has cooked through and reached an internal temperature of 165°F. Remove from the heat.
10.
Stir in the remaining half of the mango.
Per Serving:
Calories: 584; Total fat: 30g; Saturated fat: 10g; Protein: 40g; Total carbohydrates: 40g; Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 26g; Cholesterol: 160g
VARIATION:
You can use 2 tablespoons curry paste instead of curry powder if that’s your preference or what you have on hand. If you want to add a spicy kick to this dish, add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, which provides a nice balance to the sweet mango. If fresh mangos are not available in your area, you can thaw some frozen mango and use it instead.