Recipe: cauliflower and potato coconut curry by Ryan Riley
This spicy dish is a restorative winter pick-me-up

If you need a pick-me-up this winter, do not underestimate the simple, restorative power of a curry, said Ryan Riley. This cauliflower and coconut version sings with fresh flavours, without detracting from everything that is welcoming and familiar in a bowl of warm curry deliciousness.
Ingredients: serves two
- 4 shallots, finely diced
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 lime, zested and quartered
- 2cm piece of ginger root, peeled
- 1 long red (Thai) chilli, destemmed, plus optional extra slivers to serve
- 1 long green (Thai) chilli, destemmed
- 1½ tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp medium curry powder
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 cinnamon stick (about 10cm long)
- 1 x 400g tin of full-fat coconut milk
- 1 large potato (I like Maris Piper), peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
- 1 cauliflower, florets separated
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 100g coriander, finely chopped
To serve: boiled jasmine rice
Method
- Put the shallots, garlic, lime zest, ginger, both chillies, garam masala, curry powder, oil, ground coriander and a sprinkle of salt into a food processor and blitz until it's completely smooth.
- Place the mixture into a large saucepan and add the cinnamon stick. Give everything a stir to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and then place the pan over a low heat for about 20 minutes, until the mixture smells sweet and aromatic.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and then add the coconut milk and about 100ml of water and stir to combine. Add the potato, simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes, then add the cauliflower. Stir well, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Finally, stir in the peanut butter and mix well until the sauce is combined. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir half the chopped coriander through the curry, then ladle it into bowls and sprinkle with the remaining coriander to serve. Serve with boiled jasmine rice, the lime wedges for squeezing over, and sprinkled with extra slivers of red chilli, if you wish.
Taken from "Small Pleasures: Joyful Recipes for Difficult Times" by Ryan Riley, published by Bloomsbury Publishing at £22. Photography by Craig Robertson. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £17.99, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Labubu: the 'creepy' dolls sparking brawls in the shops
In the Spotlight Craze for the pint-sized soft toys has reached fever pitch among devotees
-
The top period dramas to stream now
The Week Recommends Heaving bosoms and billowing shirts are standard fare in these historical TV classics
-
Women need more pain management during gynecological procedures
Under the radar Pain should no longer be ignored
-
Bomee Ki's Kugelhopf madeleines recipe
The Week Recommends Fluffy, sweet sponge cakes with a zesty, rum twist
-
The cinematic beauty of Sicily's Aeolian Islands
The Week Recommends These scattered islands have inspired film directors since the 1950s
-
6 lounge-ready homes with conversation pits
Feature Featuring a terrazzo-flanked pit in California and a fire-side pit in Nevada
-
Is a River Alive?: a 'powerful synthesis of literature, activism and ethics'
The Week Recommends Robert Macfarlane's latest book centres on his journeys to four river systems around the world
-
Good One: an 'intensely compelling' coming-of-age tale
The Week Recommends India Donaldson's 'quietly devastating' debut feature about a teenage girl's life-changing camping trip
-
The best lemon pepper wings in Atlanta
Feature Marinated turkey wings, a Korean barbecue sauce combo and an off-menu staple
-
Film reviews: Friendship and Fight or Flight
Feature An awkward dad unravels after he's unfriended and Josh Hartnett attempts a John Wick sidestep
-
Art review: Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei
Feature Seattle Art Museum, through Sept. 7