Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry

This recipe comes from Michael Smith’s The Best of Chef at Home. I can't stop looking through that book. This is one of the recipes that fascinates me, simply because it is so different from what I usually make and has quite the mix of ingredients. All I have to do is buy some Thai curry paste. I'm always on the look-out for more vegetarian meals, and so I'm hoping this will be a good one.

"...it’s a brightly flavoured bowl of half stew, half soup and all flavour. Its spicy aromas are so tasty and addictive that you'll never notice it doesn't include meat. This dish is at its best when it's served over rice.
"

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
Splash of vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
Small knob of frozen ginger
1 tsp. Thai curry paste
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
1 (19 fl. oz.) can chickpeas
1 (14 fl. oz.) can coconut milk
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup peanut butter or any nut butter
Sprinkle or two of sea salt
1 cup frozen green peas
Several handfuls of baby spinach
Chopped cilantro


Instructions

1. Add a splash or two of vegetable oil to a stockpot over medium-high heat.
2. Toss in the onion and garlic and sauté them until they’re lightly browned, about 5 minutes or so.
3. Grate the frozen ginger into the pan with a Microplane grater or standard box grater and add the Thai curry paste.
4. Continue cooking until the spices are heated through and fragrant, another few minutes.
5. Add the sweet potatoes, chickpeas, coconut milk, orange juice and peanut butter and salt.
6. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and continue simmering until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
7. Stir in the peas, spinach and cilantro.
8. Serve over rice.