Pumpkin and Tofu Red Curry

I can’t believe it’s mid-November and I haven’t made anything with pumpkin yet. I absolutely adore pumpkin and all my friends know it, too – one of them joked that I was going to make every course of my Thanksgiving dinner contain pumpkin…for the record, I’m not. In my defense, I didn’t have much desire to cook last week, and I was away for the weekend, so I haven’t really been in the kitchen very much this month. But you can be sure that there will be lots of pumpkin recipes coming your way the next few weeks and months.

Here’s the first of them – it’s a really quick and easy Thai red curry that tastes just like a pumpkin curry I got at one of my favorite Thai places in NYC. 

I roasted the pumpkin and tofu the night before so it literally took 10 minutes to cook the curry when I was making it for dinner – the rice I served with it took longer to cook. I’m actually surprised at how well it came out – the sweetness of the pumpkin went perfectly with the slight sweetness of the coconut milk and the gentle heat of the red curry. This one is definitely becoming a regular in my repertoire of pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin and Tofu Red Curry
(serves 2)

2 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1” cubes (butternut squash, kabocha squash, or calabaza would work just as well)
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
½ teaspoon salt, divided
7 oz firm tofu, cut into 1” chunks

1 small shallot, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons red curry paste (I like this brand)
¾ cup coconut milk
¾ cup water
½ teaspoon lime zest
2 tablespoons basil chiffonade

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Heat the oven to 400° F. In a resealable plastic bag, toss the pumpkin with 1 tablespoon of the oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Arrange the pumpkin in a single layer on one side of a baking sheet that has been lined with foil and lightly greased. Toss the tofu in the same bag, and arrange it on the other side of the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and remove the pumpkin from the pan. Return the tofu to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. (You can prepare the pumpkin and tofu a day in advance.)

In a medium-sized pot, heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the red curry paste and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the salt, coconut milk, water, pumpkin, and tofu. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the lime zest and basil and stir to combine.

Serve with jasmine rice.