CHEF and blogger Paul James writes for our paper.
This is a perfect dish for a barbecue or just for a lovely meal to have while the sun shines and the rain keeps away.
I’ve made this a vegetarian option, because I believe we have enough choice in our supermarkets now to experiment with different dishes and recipes, even if you are vegan, vegetarian or not.
I think incorporating vegetarian chicken slices into a sauce, such as my recipe below, makes life such simpler, especially if you have guests who are vegetarian and you are hosting a party or meal etc.
Making a perfect curry sauce is essential – this is just one of my favourites but please try and experiment with different techniques and flavours of your own.
Cooking is all about bringing your inspiration to a dish, so let your imagination shine, just like our English weather…..hopefully.
Serve with a salad and a chilled glass of non-alcoholic sweet white wine if you really want to go all healthy.
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Vegetarian chicken and honeydew melon curry
Ingredients
1 honeydew melon, halved
Vegetarian chicken slices
25g of vegan butter
1 large onion roughly diced
2 garlic cloves finely minced
2cm roughly of peeled ginger finely minced
4tbsps of curry powder
1tbsp of turmeric
1 chilli finely chopped
Spring onions finely sliced
50g raisins
1 star anise
250ml vegetable stock for vegetarians
1tbsp cornflour
Cashew nuts finely chopped
Method
1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan.
2. Over a medium-low heat and tip in the onions, garlic and ginger and fry gently for about ten minutes until the onions are translucent.
3. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, raisins and star anise, then pour in the vegetable stock. Gently bring to the boil and simmer.
4. Cook for about 15 minutes or even longer if you wish, just make sure you keep stirring occasionally to stop the sauce from sticking.
5. Once the sauce is done, you can add a cornflour mixture to thicken or add water to loosen the sauce, whichever you prefer.
6. Then add in your ready cooked vegan or vegetarian chicken pieces and thoroughly heat through using the guidelines on the packet.
7. Halve your melon and scoop out the pips.
8. Carefully with a sharp knife, score around the top of the melon In half-inch gaps. Brush the top of the melon where you have made the score marks and brush liberally with some melted butter.
9. Place face down onto a hot chargrill pan or even barbecue, long enough to create a perfectly chargrilled effect running across the melon.
10. Remove the star anise from you curry sauce and carefully pour into the melon.
11. To finish, sprinkle with some crushed cashew nuts, spring onions and chopped chilli.
