Coconut Spinach Bake

If you want a really simple family meal idea, then look no further. I was inspired to make this dish through my love of Fijian food, particularly 'rourou' -taro leaves cooked in coconut milk. When we lived in Fiji, my husband used to harvest coconuts from the trees in our garden, grate the flesh and squeeze the milk out through a muslin cloth. It was so deliciously fresh, rich and creamy, I haven't tasted anything quite like it since. However, coconut milk remains a constant feature in our diet, providing us with an impressive array of vitamins, minerals and beneficial fat.

I make this dish on days when I don't have much time and want to quickly create a tasty, nutritious meal.

Simply put the following ingredients in a medium size baking tray:

450g of frozen spinach

170g of organic, firm tofu, cut into bite size cubes (sometimes I use tempeh instead, and you can use seitan if you eat wheat products). Ideally, you should press the tofu between paper towels first, with a weight on top, to drain it.

1 bulb of finely chopped garlic

1 large brown onion, finely diced

2 cans of coconut milk

2 green chillis, de-seeded and finely chopped (optional)

1 tsp of sea salt

Cover the tray with foil and put it in the oven, on gas mark 7, for 40 mins.

And there you go, that's it!

I usually serve it with roasted sweet potato chips and a side salad. You could also eat it with rice. I often create variations on the same theme, like replacing the spinach with 6 big, fresh tomatoes, diced and seasoned, which brings a delicious sweetness to the dish, or adding a bit of minced ginger. Once you start making it, you can adapt it to suit your own tastes. Give it a go, I'm sure you'll love it!