This is a super-speedy recipe that we make almost every week and it’s always delicious. It’s vibrant, crunchy, tangy, fresh, with a wholesome warming depth too. We use Thai red curry paste, as many of the fresh ingredients can be hard to come by in Dunedin, but that helps make this one of the fastest dishes you can muster. Swap in whatever veggies you like – we often use carrots (for their crunch), broccoli (their little flowery heads soak up the sauce beautifully) and a range of greens (picked straight from our tiny garden). There’s no limit here, just whatever you’ve got. Slice them all thinly so that they’re ready in minutes, but keep their fresh bite. No mushy veggies please, this needs to be crisp and clean! Serves 4.

Ingredients: 1 tbsp coconut oil; 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste; 1 shallot; 1 garlic clove; small chunk of ginger; 400ml tin of coconut milk; 400ml vegetable stock; 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter; 2 tbsp maple syrup; 80ml soy sauce; 2 carrots; 1/2 head of broccoli; big bunch of spring greens; 1 lime; handful of toasted peanuts; bunch of fresh herbs (any or all of the following: coriander, mint, parsley, basil); rice or rice noodles to serve.

If you’re serving rice, put this on to cook at the beginning. Everything else should take about the same time. If you’re going for rice noodles instead, soak in a bowl of cold water while you get everything else ready.

Peel the ginger, garlic, and shallot, and blitz to a fine paste in a blender (or finely chop). In a large saucepan, heat the coconut oil and add this paste together with the Thai red curry paste. Cook for a few minutes on a medium heat until fragrant, then add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, peanut butter, maple syrup and soy sauce. Stir and allow to simmer for a few minutes while you prepare the vegetables.

Finely slice or chop the vegetables. We use a vegetable peeler to slice the carrot (and any other root veg you might be using) into thin shavings. Add these to the pan just 5 minutes before you plan to serve – you want them fresh and vibrant. If you’re using rice noodles, drain these and add to the pan for the final 2 minutes. If you’re serving with rice instead, aim to have this ready around now.

Give it a taste-test. It’s important to get the balance of sweet and savoury right, so add more maple syrup or soy sauce as you like. Finally squeeze in half the lime and then serve with chopped toasted peanuts, a scattering of the fresh herbs, and a wedge of lime.