I was recently at the farmers’ market and saw a kabocha sitting all fat and happy among the other squash, ripe for the taking.

Except I didn’t.

Have you ever tried cutting a kabocha squash? Short of a hand saw, good leverage and a tarp it just isn’t going to happen–at least not in my tiny studio apartment kitchen with its too-high counters and my barely five feet of leverage. Which is too bad, since my mom makes one of my favorite fall dishes using kabocha–a warm coconut-y stew.

The dish is almost perfect: I can’t eat dairy or soy, stick to mostly plant-based meals and try to limit my starch intake, and her version hits almost all of those marks. Except for the soy. Oh yeah, and my desire to never dissect another kabocha again. So I’ve tweaked her recipe a little bit, taken out what I can’t eat and removed the time consuming squash-icide.

Butternut Squash Stew
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. grated ginger
1 red pepper, cubed
1 lb butternut squash (I buy the pre-cut butternut squash from Whole Foods)
1 1/4 cups coconut water
2 tbsps. lime juice
1 tbsp. raw organic coconut aminos
2 tsps. red curry paste
1 tsp. sugar
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas
7 oz. full fat coconut milk

Heat the oil in a saucepan oven over medium high; add the ginger and red pepper and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the squash, coconut water, lime juice, coconut aminos, curry paste and sugar; bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to simmer. Cover and simmer until squash is tender, about 18-20 minutes.

Once the squash is tender add the chickpeas and cook an additional 3 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 4 servings.