The nights are getting cooler, and that means my body is crying out for warming foods.

After summer staples of BBQed meat and salads, it can be a bit of a challenge to find satisfying autumn fare that doesn’t stick to your butt.

So, today we’re going low cal in the recipe department, with my Red Curry of Pumpkin and Green Beans. It’s a recipe that is even featured on the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation program, and has proven pretty damn popular with participants!

It’s really fresh flavoured and quite light, so goes down well even on summer nights…and it’s surprisingly filling, so you can skip the rice if you’re counting calories.

Red curry of pumpkin & green beans

Serves 4: 290 calories (1214kj) per serve

what you need

600g peeled and seeded pumpkin, cut into 3cm cubes

olive oil spray

1tbs red curry paste

400ml light coconut cream

200g green beans, cut into 3cm lengths

2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded finely (you can buy them in a jar or freeze-dried at the supermarket if you can’t find them fresh)

1tbs brown sugar

1tbs fish sauce

1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves (substitute regular green basil if you can’t find the Thai kind)

1 tbs lime juice

what to do

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced).

Place the pumpkin on a baking dish, spray lightly with olive oil, and toss to coat. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender.

Place a heavy based pan over medium heat and add the curry paste. Cook off for a minute or so, until aromatic. Then add the coconut cream 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well with a wooden spoon between each addition.  Add the pumpkins, beans and kaffir lime leaves. I like to blanch my beans in a little boiling water before adding them to the curry, so they’re not quite so crunchy – but that’s a personal taste thing.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for five minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, fish sauce, basil and lime juice.

Serve with jasmine rice and fresh lime wedges.