A few years ago, my husband and I decided to reduce our meat consumption.
This decision is part of a process that we started about five years ago: to be more concerned about the environment and to distance ourselves from the society of overconsumption. The very beginning started with my husband, who adheres to the principles of minimalism. For my part, I think it was breastfeeding my children, which had a triggering effect in many ways. This was followed by meetings, discussions, debates, doubts, and choices. We started by removing the material at home that seemed redundant, we chose to use washable diapers, I equipped myself with reusable feminine hygiene products, and in the wake of this, we started to reduce our consumption of meat and to favour local purchases when possible. This year I even started an urban vegetable garden on our balcony. And so far, everything is growing, I must admit: I’m pretty proud of it!
In the end, it may not be a big deal, but we try to participate in preserving our beautiful planet and transmitting certain values to our children.
However, reducing the consumption of meat has been a little bit of a challenge, on the one hand, because we have to rethink our way of cooking but also because we have to break some cultural habits… especially for Mister. He’s from Brazil, where meat is heavenly. To tell you the truth, he used to eat it for breakfast, and on average three times a day… Nowadays, we eat meat about four times a week, imagine the change for him!
How to replace meat? Not a big mystery. There are several options, including, of course, vegetables. So long live lentils, beans, chickpeas and more.
And for inspiration, I often turn to Indian cuisine… And here is our favourite recipe of the moment: a chickpea and cauliflower curry. It’s simple, quick and delicious. You can quickly adapt it to the flavours you like and give it more spice by increasing the dose of curry paste. It’s a dish that will impress guests as much as it will save you from an overworked weeknight.
CHICKPEA AND CAULIFLOWER CURRY
Ingredients
- 500 g of chickpeas canned or pre-cooked
- 1 cauliflower pre-cooked or frozen
- 1 box of coconut milk 400 ml approximately
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or any nut butter
- 1 teaspoon yellow curry paste or more if you like it spicy
- the juice of 1 lime or 1/2 lemon
- 3 branches of spring onion or 1/2 onion
- 1 pod of garlic crushed
- olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the spring onions, separating the white and green parts.
- In a saucepan, heat a little olive oil (or other vegetable oil).
- Add the white part of the chives and the crushed garlic. Let it brown for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, nut butter and curry powder. Stir well to combine. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and cauliflower. Add salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Pour in the lemon juice, sprinkle the green part of the spring onions and serve with rice or naan bread.
