Lentil and Spinach Curry--AIP or not!

This is a delicious, inexpensive dish that goes a long way!  Add chicken, shrimp, lamb or nothing at all--we've done it both ways, and love it.

It's also a great way to get lots of vegetables...last time I made it I added cauliflower and zucchini...this time, leftover broccoli, green onions and carrots in addition to the spinach, onions, and garlic that are part of the original recipe.

And yes I DID eat more than that, it was just so good I forgot to take a picture before tucking into it!

1 15 oz. can of lentils or 1 cup (or more) of lentils, soaked in water to cover (soak 2 to 4 hours)
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
butter, ghee, or oil to saute' them
2 C. frozen chopped spinach or 1 pkg.
1 C. coconut milk
1 C. vegetable broth or soup stock
1 t. salt
1 t. curry powder or to taste (I mostly used AIP nightshade free curry powder this time, in this post: http://starvingartistscook.blogspot.com/2018/12/aip-curry-powder.html)
Black pepper to taste
1/2 t. dried thyme, which I forgot...

Whatever other vegetables you want to throw in...

Saute' onions and garlic till translucent--I did the carrots then, too.  Add coconut milk and broth, then other ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.  If you need more liquid, add it. 

Serve with naan, rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, whatever you like.

SO GOOD.  And enough leftovers for another couple of meals...

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Legumes get a bad rap for a number of reasons...the lectins in them can cause gut permeability (isn't that appetizing?!) and other problems (Beano, anyone?).  But for whatever reason, lentils are the least likely of this family to give you problems, and they have a host of nutrients!  The Paleo Mom gave them a thumbs up recently, so I jumped on it for an occasional meal.

If you use canned lentils or soak them first, you reduce the lectins even further, and so I do.

Paleo/Primal Baked Curried Chicken

I thought I had a recipe for this, but if I did, I didn't save it. So I started searching around the Internet and found several, and as is my wont, combined them to come up with this one. The one I mostly based this on called for full fat coconut milk, which would make this recipe Paleo/Primal, and which I thought I had in the pantry. Unfortunately, I didn't, so I substituted Greek yogurt and it worked very well, but it isn't pure Paleo/Primal.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs - I prefer whole with skin on but boneless & skinless are fine too. As are breasts. Or 12 small drumsticks, which is what the original recipe called for.

2 T coconut oil, ghee, or butter

1/2 onion, chopped

4 T curry powder

4 TBS homemade bone broth, chicken broth or water

1 medium tomato, quartered

4 T full fat coconut milk or Greek yogurt

4 cloves fresh garlic

2 inch piece of fresh ginger

1 t sea salt

1 c chopped dried fruit - I prefer prunes, apricots and raisins.

Directions:

    Melt fat of choice in a skillet and saute onions for 5 minutes. Add curry powder to onions and saute for 2-3 minutes to bring out the flavor of the spices. If spices begin to stick, turn down heat and add a bit more fat. Remove from heat.

    Place tomato, yogurt/coconut milk, garlic, ginger, and salt into a blender. Pour broth or water into skillet with onions and carefully scrape all of the onions and spices into blender as well. Puree until smooth.

    In a large bowl, pour curry sauce over chicken and mix to thoroughly coat. Marinate in fridge - overnight if possible, but at least a couple of hours.

    Preheat oven to 350F - I use a convection toaster oven, so preheating really isn’t necessary.

    Place marinated chicken in a baking pan or casserole dish that is just big enough to hold them - if using whole thighs, put them in skin side up.

    Bake COVERED  for 45 minutes.

    Remove cover/foil, baste chicken with juices in pan. Add dried fruit, and bake another 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Here it is, served with Kate's Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad as seen elsewhere in this blog.