Pumpkin Coconut Stew, Return of the Creepyass Cookies

Pumpkin + Coconut = 4ever love!!! 

I think it was on my last post about pumpkin and coconut that Janet suggested I check out this stew recipe.  Then, this past week, which was the week of pumpkin-carving parties (I made this sad looking... cathuahua?), I acquired a hefty amount of roasted pumpkin.  This recipe seemed an ideal way to use it up!  Since the pumpkin was already cooked, I added it after 30 minutes of cooking; I also used less split peas (about 3/4 c total) to account for the fact that I had more pumpkin than the specified 2 1/2 c.  I also threw in some sauteed mushrooms, and subbed half a can of diced tomatoes for the fresh one.  I'm curious about the effects of stewing the coconut with the legumes and pumpkin, rather than toasting/frying it with the tempering oil.  It seems like doing the latter might add a nice toasty flavor and actually bring out the coconutty flavor overall.  Or, it might just burn and be a huge mess.

I will definitely make this stew again.  It's delicious--the zingy lime balances out the pungent, mellow turmeric, mustard, squash, and split peas--and the texture (depending on how long you cook it, I suppose) was creamy but still interesting (i.e., not total mush).  Moreover, the combination of pumpkin, stewed coconut, and mustard creates a freakily buttery flavor.  The only woe I had was that it ended up being way too salty.  I used all stock, not water, so I should have tasted it before adding more salt with the tempering oil.  I added a few more cups of water, and now it's absolutely perfect.

Pumpkin Coconut Split Pea Stew

(from taste space)

Ingredients

3/4 c split yellow peas

3-4 c pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 

1 tomato, diced (I used 1 c diced canned tomatoes)
1/2 c fresh, frozen, or dried shredded coconut (I used dried)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 c vegetable stock or water, or enough to cover
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2 TB canola oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more--this wasn't very spicy)
1 clove garlic, minced

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salt to taste (if any)

1 TB agave (optional)
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. Rinse the legumes in a couple changes of water.
2. In a large soup pot, combine the squash, drained legumes, tomato, coconut, turmeric, cumin, and enough stock to cover. Bring to a boil, and then simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Remove the cover and simmer another 10 minutes.
3. In a small skillet, warm the canola oil until shimmering. Add the mustard seeds and when they stop popping, add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Swirl the skillet so the contents cook evenly, and cook another 10 seconds. Then pour the contents of the skillet into the soup.  Finish with the salt, agave, lime juice, and cilantro. Adjust the seasonings, to taste.  Serves 6.

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In other news, I remade the finger cookies of last year and fixed a few errors: you only need 1/2 c blanched almonds, not 1 1/2 c, and I added 1/2 tsp almond extract.