Creamed Curried Spinach with Bacon Naan
A vegan, Indian-inspired curried spinach dish is accompanied by homemade naan studded with crunchy, salty bits of bacon.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 477kcal
Ingredients
For the bacon naan:
- 3/4 cup water, bathtub temperature (about 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
- 3/4 cup milk, bathtub temperature (about 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 4 pieces cooked bacon, chopped
For the creamed curried spinach:
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 4 hours (or up to overnight)
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1/2 small sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1 8-ounce bag fresh spinach
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- First, make the naan. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the water, milk, yeast and salt. Next, add the Greek yogurt and honey, then slowly stir in the flour. Before the mixture gets too thick, stir in the chopped bacon and continue stirring until all ingredients are combined and a sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place, away from drafts, for about two hours or until doubled in size.
- With lightly floured hands, punch down the dough and divide into six even pieces. (The dough will be quite sticky, so just keep adding enough flour until you can handle it without all of it sticking to your fingers.)
- Heat a griddle over medium heat on the stove. Spray with nonstick spray (I used coconut oil spray from Trader Joe’s.) Using your hands, form each piece of dough into a flat, oval shape that’s about 1/4-inch thick. Place the dough (working in batches) on the griddle and cook for about 3 minutes each side, until it becomes slightly charred and feels like it’s been cooked through. If your naan seems to puff up a lot when it’s cooking on its first side, simply flip it once that side’s done and then press down with the back of a spatula while it’s cooking on its second side. This will help it spread out more and cook more evenly.
- Remove cooked naan from griddle and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.
- Next, make the curried cashew cream. Drain the cashews from their soaking water and add to a high-powered blender with the curry powder, ½ teaspoon salt and filtered water. Puree until a creamy sauce forms, adding a tad more water if needed. Measure out two cups of the cashew cream and reserve the rest for another use.
- In a large saute pan, melt the coconut oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute until fragrant and translucent, about 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add about 1/3 of the fresh spinach to the pan, stirring until the spinach begins to wilt. Add the tomatoes. Next, add about 1/3 of the curried cashew cream. Continue this process two more times, until you’ve used up all of the spinach and the whole two cups of the curried cashew cream.
- Stir in the lemon juice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer on low until ready to serve. Serve with bacon naan. No utensils required!
Notes
The Bacon Naan recipe was adapted from the No-Knead Grilled Naan recipe on Girls Versus Dough.
Nutrition
Calories: 477kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 826mg | Potassium: 425mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 5mg