Vegan Pineapple Curry in the Pineapple

Get the vacation on your plate at home! The delicious combination of fruit and spiciness, along with the creamy coconut teleports the taste buds directly to Thailand.

When I was in Thailand a few years ago on the beautiful island of Koh Kood, vegan hotspots, as one is used to them from other islands of Thailand, unfortunately were rather rare. But in one of the few restaurants with vegan options I ate incredibly delicious curry, which was served in half a pineapple and loved the idea. On the one hand, you recycle the peel - which would otherwise end up in the trash - and on the other hand, you save yourself a wash-up ;)

This curry is a real taste explosion! The sweet and sour taste of the pineapple, the spiciness of the curry paste and the creamy taste of the coconut milk combined with tender chickpeas and crunchy coconut chips make the perfect combination.

For 2 servings you need

For the curry:

• 1 ripe pineapple

• 400g canned chickpeas (or the equivalent amount of dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked).

• 400ml coconut milk

• 2 red peppers

• 1 tablespoon red curry paste (you can buy it in an Asian store)

• 1 onion

• 2 garlic cloves

• a piece of ginger about the size of a thumb

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tsp. turmeric

• juice of 1/2 lime

For the decoration:

• toasted coconut chips

Also:

• 150g rice

*2 servings can be served in the pineapple, the rest on plates. If you want to serve all the portions in the pineapple, you can use 2 baby pineapples for the recipe.

Preparation:

1. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and separate the pulp into cubes (this works best if you first carve a checkerboard pattern into the pulp with a knife and then remove it with a large spoon). Leave out the center stalk. Once you have removed the pulp to the left and right of it, you can carefully scrape it out as well.

2. Carefully scrape out the skins and set aside for later.

3. Put 400g of chickpeas in a colander and rinse them well.

4. Wash 2 peppers, remove the core and cut the fruit flesh into rough cubes.

5. Peel 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic and a thumb-sized piece of ginger and finely dice or chop them.

6. Bring 150g of rice to a boil with 1 1/2 times the amount of water, then simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the water is absorbed and the rice still has some bite. Only then add salt!

7. Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a non-stick pan and sauté onions, garlic and ginger.

8. Then add 1 tablespoon curry paste and fry it briefly.

9. Then add the bell bell pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes.

10. Deglaze everything with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce.

11. Pour in 400ml coconut milk.

12. Let the curry simmer for another 5 minutes with the lid closed, until the peppers are soft but still have some bite.

13. Finally, add the pineapple and chickpeas and simmer for another 5 minutes.

14. At the end, season the curry with the juice of 1/2 lime.

15. Fill the pineapple halves with the curry and garnish with toasted coconut chips.

Enjoy!