I’ve been craving gentle, easy to prepare comfort food lately. More than anything, I’ve been wanting veggies and lots of them! I’m honestly not even all that bothered with meat or fish at the moment (though I still try to eat some salmon at least once a week because as much as I believe in listening to your body, I do know that those omega-3’s aren’t going to synthesise themselves). This super quick recipe was born out of my desire for something sweet, creamy, gall-bladder friendly and that would only take minutes to prepare.

Lets be honest lovely ones, we don’t always have broth on hand (nor do we feel like it – especially when we’ve been on GAPS for almost two years). We don’t always think ahead and do meal prep (because we are HUMAN!). We don’t always crave the classic “meat and veg” dinners that we know are nutritious and balanced. We just want something that is so ridiculously easy to digest that we can go to bed within an hour after dinner if we so desire. We want something that feels far more like a “treat” than it actually is. Sweet, creamy and salty, without being stodgy or “too rich”.

I’ve enjoyed this “custard” pretty much every night this week and am still not sick of it (always a good sign by the 7th or 8th night right?). I start my meal with a bowl of this amazing dish. The butternut cooks while I enjoy my first course, and then all I have to do is add the coconut cream and salt and voila … “dessert”.

I call this “custard” because it’s smooth, sweet, comforting and creamy, though it’s completely egg, gluten, dairy, nut and sugar-free, and suitable for pretty much every single dietary philosophy out there (GAPS, paleo, vegan, AIP and the list goes on!)

This ‘custard’ is appropriate for any time of the day as a light meal, snack or “dessert” after a savoury first course. It also doubles as a scrummy “mash” if you leave it a tad chunky and can be served with your fave quality protein source; sustainably-sourced fish, homemade meatballs, organic chicken legs, a big dollop of homemade hummus etc. it can even be made with your fave variety of sweet spud (the white or purple ones are perfect for this cooking method!) or you can do a 50/50 mix of pumpkin and plantains (a potato-like starchy veggie that looks like a fat green banana) to get some resistant starch (fuel for your good gut bugs) into your day.

Now enough from me, let’s cook comfort food!

Creamy Butternut “Custard”

• 1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped Butternut pumpkin (or peeled and chopped sweet spuds, plantains or a combo of the three)
• Filtered water for cooking
• 2 heaped tablespoons of Ayam coconut cream
• Herbamare , organic fine sea salt or Seaweed Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon of Changing Habits probiotic powder (optional), or probiotic powder of choice. I like the Changing Habits brand because it’s got a beautiful earthy and salty flavour that takes this creamy favourite to an epic next level

Method

Add Butternut to small saucepan with approx 1 cup of filtered water and bring to the boil with the lid on, turning down to a simmer (lowest heat) and cook for 10 or so minutes or until pumpkin is nice and soft.

Drain cooking liquid into a mug or glass. This is a sweet warm water that some of the pumpkin nutrients have leached into – drink it! It’s  nutritious and aids digestion. Add a dash of coconut or rice milk for a creamy pumpkin “latte”. Place pumpkin into a bowl and mash with coconut cream and salt to taste (you can choose how smooth or chunky you want it – for a silky smooth result blend on high in a high-speed blender or food processor such as the Vitamix).

“If you take a probiotic powder, you can wait for the mash to cool a little, and stir the powder through. This adds a malt-like sweetness and saves you the bother of downing a pill or try or attempting to dissolve the powder in water. Great for kids that need probiotics but won’t take them in capsule form”

To be honest, I usually mash it all up in the saucepan and eat it out of there to save on dishes (plus it keeps it warmer for longer so I can savour each mouthful). You can double, quadruple (etc.) the recipe for more people or if you want leftovers to heat up tomorrow (but it’s so yummy that leftovers might never make it to the fridge – I’m warning you now)

I know this is hardly a recipe as it’s so basic, but sometimes we need to be reminded that minimal ingredients and simple cooking methods can yield incredible results. And the easier and quicker (and cheaper) the better right?