Easy, Healthy, Green Veggie Curry

 

I have never actually made a curry before, so I was pretty nervous when I decided to try this. But I have been seeing green curry paste at the store for a while and I decided to make it happen. I went with a fish-sauce free curry paste, so this is completely vegetarian- and actually even fully vegan. Some day soon I will make my own curry paste- I have seen recipes on the interwebs and I think I can piece together one that I like. But it requires many ingredients, and on the day that I made this, I was physically and mentally drained- thus I did not have the capacity to think about the 50 ingredients it would require....

I went with green as it has a more mild flavor than red and I wasn't sure how spicy the paste would be. This one ended up being flavorful with a nice kick, but nothing too extreme. If it isn't spicy enough for you, you may want to toss in some red pepper flakes at the end.

 So- onto the curry...

Ingredients

2 large yams (or some type of combination thereof) approx 1 lb

1/2-3/4 of a red bell pepper

1 large or 2 medium carrots

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

3 tbsp green curry paste

1 13.5 oz coconut milk (I used light coconut milk and it was still great, regular will just make a richer broth)

1/2 c veggie stock

Peas- I had to use frozen, but fresh would be much better

Green onions, for garnish

The basic idea is to add whatever veggies you find tasty- I like potatoes with curry, I feel the white potatoes soak up all of the curry flavor, and yams add a nice sweetness to a somewhat spicy curry. So I did all of that. I used 3-4 baby white potatoes I had lying around, one beautiful Japanese yam, and one garnet yam. The Japanese yams are milder than your usual sweet potato, so it was in all a nice contrast across the 3.

 

Chop the potatoes into half-moon chunks and put them in a pot- cover with water, add a bunch of salt, and bring to a boil. Boil until mostly cooked through, 5-7 mins. 

While that is happening,  chop the  carrots, onions, and bell peppers into nice bite-sized pieces- roughly uniform so they cook at the same pace.Mince the garlic and toss it in the bowl.

 

Heat 1 tsp coconut oil- yes, coconut oil. I raved about this stuff in my stir-fry post and I'll do it again here. There is no better oil for a stir-fry (well.... toasted sesame oil is pretty darn close...) and it is very good for you.

Anywho- heat the oil in your wok, getting the pan and oil nice and hot. Toss in the carrots, peppers, and onions, add a liberal dose of salt, and cook them until mostly cooked through and they start to smell reeeeeaaaaaaaalllllly good.Don't be afraid of the heat here, especially if you are using a wok. Unless things start to brown too quickly, the rapid heat of the wok is your friend...

 

Once they're mostly cooked through, add the curry paste- I did it in 1/2 tsp chunks across the mixture and used about 3 tbsp. More= spicier. Also, if you don't like the flavor level when you're done, you can a)mix some curry paste with a bit of veggie broth and stir that into your pot while reducing the broth down to concentrate the flavors or b) add more veggie broth and/or coconut milk if you want to reduce the amount of curry flavor... or even water if you really want to tone things down.

 

Drain the potatoes when they are done and toss them into the mix in the wok. Add the veggie broth, coconut milk, and whatever peas you are adding, and gently stir. The broth and milk will mix with the curry and turn everything a beautiful creamy green color. Let it all hang out and get all cozy with the flavors for 5-10 mins at around a simmer, making sure it doesn't start to stick to the bottom. As it reduces, taste for salt and add as needed. 

I have a photo for this part but the computer refuses to upload it for reasons unknown to me. Visualize it here:

Serve over brown rice or quinoa. I chose quinoa and it was fantastic. Garnish with fresh green onion and perhaps a squirt of lime juice- light, tasty, spicy, and supremely satisfying.

Moroccan Veggie Stew

  I love love love this stew. I stumbled upon it in the fall and it is chock full of veggies and bold spices. I was fairly ambivalent about raisins, but in  this recipe, they get all plump and add a great little pop of sweetness in this flavorful concoction. It makes a giant pot and freezes fairly well- the sweet potatoes can get a little mealy when defrosted, but it holds up well overall. I got the original recipe here.

I have adjusted the spice levels and some of the veggie ratios. This recipe will need to be adjusted based on your personal tastes- I like it with a good hit of spice and just about a medium level of heat.

1 large onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
1 butternut squash (about 3 lbs), cut into cubes
3 carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 cup vegetable broth
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes (do not drain- and you may need a 2nd can, see below)
About 1/2 cup golden raisins
S&P to taste

Pour a round of EVOO in the pan, sauteeing onions and garlic until soft and onions are slightly browned. Add the spices, cook for a few minutes. Add the potatoes, squash, carrots, and broth.

 Bring everything to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chick peas, tomatoes, and raisins. At this point, you may want to add a little extra liquid if you want a saucier stew. You can add either a cup of broth or a can of tomatoes- up to you. I like mine more tomato-y, so I usually toss in a second can of tomatoes (the fire-roasted tomatoes are pretty tasty here, too.) If you like a thicker stew, leave as-is. Simmer for about 30 minutes, covered, until the veggies are soft.

I really like serving this over a small scoop of quinoa, with a hit of fresh lemon juice and a bit of lemon zest. The acid of the lemon, the sweet pop of the raisins, and the flavorful spice of the stew make for a perfectly balanced combination.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar and Pecans

 

While I was hunting for a sweeter version of sweet potatoes to serve alongside my Roasted Sweet Potato Salad, I happened upon this recipe on the Epicurious website. It was simple and light, and had a nice combination of sweet and savory. Plus it had a nice textural contrast between the whipped potatoes and the crunchy baked topping. It was a big hit with my "Second Thanksgiving Feast" guests and is going in the permanent recipe box. I made a small modification from the original recipe, cutting down the brown sugar in the topping. I also made sure to use pure vanilla extract that had been made with distilled alcohol, to keep the recipe gluten-free for some of my guests.

Topping: 

- 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (about 2 ounces)

- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Potatoes
- 5 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 4 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons salt

- Preheat oven to 350 deg. 

- Mix sugar, pecans and butter in small bowl. Cover and chill until ready to use. 

- Use either butter or a non-stick spray to prep a  13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.

- Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain.

- Let them cool for a bit. 

- Purée sweet potatoes in processor. 

     - This is where I had to go through a few steps. It will most likely depend on what kind of equipment you have. I have a Cuisinart 6 cup food processor. After using the food processor, my potatoes looked like this:

 

They were still pretty grainy and lumpy. Next, I tried an immersion blender wand to whip them up, but they were too thick for that. Finally, I just stuck them in the blender. That did the trick. They came out smooth and fluffy like this: 

 

- Once you have settled on a method of whipping your potatoes into submission, beat the eggs, syrup, vanilla, lemon juice and salt in large bowl. Mix in the sweet potatoes. 

- Transfer sweet potato mixture to prepared dish. 

- Sprinkle pecan topping evenly over mixture.

- Bake until sweet potato mixture is set and topping bubbles, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes and serve.

Roasted sweet potato salad with cranberries and pecans

I am just now getting around to posting the recipes I whipped up for my "Second Thanksgiving Feast." I found this first recipe a few years ago somewhere on the interwebs, and it has become an annual favorite. It can really be eaten any time of year, but the cranberries and pecans make it particularly well-suited for an unexpected and refreshing take on the usual sweet potato dish. I will be posting a Whipped sweet potatoes with pecan and brown sugar topping recipe shortly, so there will be something  a little more traditional as well ;)

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries & Pecans


2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
EVOO
Rosemary (fresh or dried)
S&P
2 tablespoons finely diced sweet onion
2 tablespoons chopped, toasted pecans
2 tablespoons dried cranberries (Craisins), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey (citrus honeys are great here)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dash of cayenne (optional if you want a bit of a kick)

- Preheat the oven to 350 deg.
- Toss the diced sweet potatoes with the EVOO, rosemary, and S&P. Spread them out on a baking pan.

- Roast for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a fork inserts easily into the potato. Keep in mind that these potatoes will be tossed with vinaigrette and other ingredients, so it's ok to leave them a bit more firm than you might otherwise.

- While they cool, whisk all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette.

- Combine the sweet potatoes, onions, parsley, cranberries, and chopped pecans in a large bowl.

- Toss with the vinaigrette- I would start with half and then add more based on personal preference. I typically only end up using half of the dressing for this amount of potatoes, but I leave the extra out for anyone who wants to add more.... or to make a second batch a few days later...