Green turkey curry with pumpkin and coconut

Serves 4-6

Try to buy an authentic and good quality Thai green curry paste - they will be mainly scribed in Thai. Sainsbury's stocks a couple of good ones in its special selection range, one of them from Charmaine Soloman, the Australian writer and authority on Oriental food.

1kg turkey thigh meat, skinned, boned and cut into 4cm chunks
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sticks of lemon grass, trimmed and finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
30g galangal or root ginger, scraped and finely chopped
2tbsp vegetable oil
2tsp Thai green curry paste
4 lime leaves
1.5litres chicken stock
150ml coconut milk
500g pumpkin, peeled if necessary and cut into rough 4cm chunks
Salt and pepper

for the fresh green paste

4 lime leaves
A few sprigs of coriander
A few sprigs of Thai basil
1/2 stick of lemon grass, trimmed

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, season the turkey meat and cook on a high heat for about 5-6 minutes. Add the onions, lemon grass, garlic and galangal and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Add the Thai curry paste, lime leaves and chicken stock, bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, blend the ingredients for the fresh green paste with a tablespoon or so of water until smooth. Add the coconut milk, pumpkin and green paste to the curry and simmer for about 15 minutes until the pumpkin is tender and the sauce has thickened.