Thai Green Curry

I love Thai green curry. I always -- yes always -- choose it over the red and yellow curries available at most Thai restaurants. So, if I love it so much then why haven't I made it before? Laziness, really. "But Sara", you say, "you've posted some pretty time consuming dishes. How can you be put off by some curry?" Well, I don't know what to tell ya. I claimed to be lazy, not logical. Fact is, this weak I bit the bullet and tried my hand at my favorite Thai dish.

To be honest, I kind of winged it here. I threw a bunch of stuff in the pot that I thought should be in delicious Thai green curry, crossed my fingers and just hoped for the best. Well, the result was really really good but not as good as my favorite green curry (from Twisted Noodles, for those of you in the Triangle), probably because I missed some secret ingredient. Will I stop ordering from Twisted Noodles now that I can make a pretty good curry for far less than $10 per serving? Absolutely not. These two green curries will have to learn to peacefully share my and Austin's curry cravings.

Thai Green Curry
Makes 4 servings

• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 16 oz firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into about 3/4 inch / 2 cm cubes
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 jalapeños or Thai green chilies, seeded if you'd like and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium new potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm thick half moons
• 1 2/3 cups / 400 ml coconut milk (I used the light kind but the full fat stuff would be even more delicious)
• 1 2/3 cups / 400 ml vegetable broth
• 2/3 cups chopped cilantro

1.  In a medium skillet, heat 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu cubes and fry, flipping occasionally, for about 25 minutes or until the tofu has browned on all sides. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

2.  While the tofu is frying, pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Toss in the garlic, ginger and chilies and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in the curry paste. Add in the coconut milk, vegetable broth, salt and potatoes. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the bell pepper and the zucchini and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tofu and simmer for 5 more minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

3.  Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the curry hot, over rice or as a soup.

Morrocan Chickpeas and Zucchini

At the end of last week, while other food bloggers were busy listing their most Independence Day worthy recipes I let my blog go dark and skipped from barbecue to barbecue. Blogger fail. Sorry. Something blogworthy did come out of this weekend though: I made an amazing couscous salad I'll share with you later this week, so stay tuned.

The downside of attending several early celebrations is that by the time July 4th proper actually rolled around, Austin and I had eaten enough festive fare. We wanted anything but more grilled tempeh, cold salads and watermelon. It was also pouring like crazy in Durham, and that kind of weather always makes me want warm food, even if it's still in the 70s. So stew it was. I went with a Moskowitz creation and, as usual, it didn't disappoint. This stew packs some serious flavor, and takes under an hour to make (most of that time is inactive). We served it over Israeli couscous, seasoned with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. It was the perfect antidote to a weekend of not-so-perfect eating.

Morrocan Chickpeas and Zucchini
Adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction
Makes 6 servings

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated or minced ginger
• 1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cup vegetable broth
• 3 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise then chopped into 2 in / 5 cm pieces
• 2 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 in / 1/2 cm thick half moons
• 1 28 oz / 795 g whole tomatoes, roughly broken into pieces with your hands
• 2 15 oz / 425 g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Optional: 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1.  In a medium to large pot or deep pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, or about 5 minutes. Toss in the garlic, ginger and red pepper, cooking for another 2 minutes. Mix in the rest of the spices and the salt and cook for about a minute.

2.  Pour in the vegetable broth and add the carrots. Cover the pot and bring the stew to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the zucchini and the broken up tomatoes with their juice. Cover the pot again, and gently boil for 15 more minutes. Mix in the chickpeas, partially cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes. If using the mint, stir it in right before removing the pot from the heat. Serve hot over couscous or rice.

Potaje de Garbanzos (Spanish Chickpea Stew)

When my parents were visiting, my dad and I got to talking about a plate of potaje -- or traditional Spanish chickpea stew normally served during Lent-- he'd had a few days earlier. With a longing look in his eyes, he described the dish: "It was delicious and vegetarian. It had garbanzos, spinach, cod...". "Wait a minute! Cod? That's not a vegetable!", I replied. Obviously, my father knows that cod doesn't grow in the ground. I think the source of my his confusion was that, although still eat fish very rarely, he still considers me a vegetarian. That's why anything I would eat can, in his mind, be labeled as vegetarian.

The inclusion of cod (a fish I've never liked) wasn't the only reason I was less than thrilled by my father's mention of potaje. It was one of those dishes that my school's lunches ruined for me. I thought this damage to be irreversible, but just in case it wasn't I decided to make a truly vegetarian (vegan even!) version of this stew. I'm happy to report that there is such a thing as the right potaje for me and this is it.

Potaje de Garbanzos (Spanish Chickpea Stew)
Makes about 5 servings

• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced (you can definitely substitute a different colored bell pepper)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tomato, diced
• About 1 lb potatoes (I used about 3 smallish red ones)
• 5-6 cups vegetable stock (I wanted my potaje more soupy, so I used 6)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups loosely packed spinach, chopped
• 1 15 oz / 425 g can chickpeas
• Optional: 1 nori sheet, julienned

1.  In a pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Toss in the onions and saute them for about 5 minutes, or until tender but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for about another 3 minutes. Mix in the peppers and saute for approximately 4 minutes. Stir in the paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, toasting the spices for about a minute.
2.  Deglaze the pan by adding the tomatoes, broth, potatoes, and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Cook the soup covered for 15-18 minutes or until the potatoes are just shy of done.
3.  Add the spinach, nori and chickpeas and simmer the stew for about 5 minutes or until the potatoes are done. Fish out the bay leaves and serve.

Nutty Sweet Potato and Kale Stew

Picture this. It's 1 am and you've been at the bar for several hours. In walks a beautiful woman carrying a tray of vegan rosewater pistachio, chocolate mouse, or cappuccino cupcakes. She proceeds to distribute them amongst those present and you all devour them like only people who have the buzzed munchies can. No, this isn't fiction. This scene actually repeated itself pretty frequently at the Sahara, a bar in Worcester, MA where you were pretty certain to find me a few years ago. And who was the cupcake goddess?, you ask. My friend Jenna.

With such a vegan maven in the mix, the food talk was common. I remember one particular night when Jenna kept smiling, looking out into space starry eyed. Was she in love? Yes, yes she was ... with a stew. She just couldn't stop thinking about the wonderful African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew she'd made and had for dinner. When I finally left Worcester, she let me in on the secret: she gave me the book she'd gotten the recipe from -- "Vegan Planet" by Robin Robertson.

The book has since become a favorite of mine. I love the stew of Jenna's dreams. It's got a little sweetness from the potatoes, heat from the pepper, a bit of acidity from the tomatoes and some creaminess from the nut butter.  I've changed a few things from the original recipe: I used more tomatoes, a bit more broth and garlic, changed the spice quantities and substituted almond butter for the peanut butter. Inspired by a similar recipe in "The Happy Herbivore Cookbook", I also decided to add a bunch of kale, since you can never really eat too many greens. The result is just perfect for a night like this one, when I need something comforting after getting my ass kicked in Muscle Pump.

Nutty Sweet Potato and Kale Stew
Adapted from African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew in Robin Robertson's "Vegan Planet"
Makes about 6 servings 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle or cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs or 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into about 1-inch cubes
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed 
• 2 tablespoons almond or other nut butter
• 1 bunch of kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped 
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds or other nut

1. Add the oil to a pot over medium heat. When the oil is ready, add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Throw in the garlic and bell pepper, cooking until the pepper softens, about another 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the ginger, salt and spices, cooking until fragrant or about 1 minute. Toss in the potatoes and stir them to coat. Deglaze the pan with the tomatoes, their juice, and the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are about 10 minutes from being done.
4. Mix in the beans and the kale. Cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
5. Remove about 1/2 cup of the broth from the pot and mix it with the peanut butter. Stir the mixture back into the pot.
6. Serve garnished with the chopped nuts.

Chipotle Portobello Chili

When I landed in RDU airport on my way back from a very intense Christmas vacation in Madrid I was tired, cranky and, most importantly, hungry. Two things made me instantly feel  better: seeing Austin waiting for me and him mentioning that there was a pot of chili waiting for us at home. When questioned about the origin of said chili, Austin revealed he had used Emeril Lagasse's Vegetarian Chili recipe. As soon as we got home, we heated up the delicious stew and started eating immediately. It may have been the state I was in, but I thought it was the most delicious chili I had ever had (and I eat chili a lot!).

Because of the comfort this chili had brought me in a time of need, I decided to make it for a sick Austin tonight. Even though Emeril's chili is amazing as it is, I couldn't resist the urge to tinker with the recipe. I wanted to incorporate one of my favorite ingredients in Southwestern and Mexican cooking -- chipotle in adobo. These days you can thankfully find cans of these smoked jalapeños in the Hispanic section of almost any grocery store. Since I rarely use a whole can at once, I store leftovers in ziploc bags in the freezer. You can also find chipotles in ground form, perfect for when you want a hint of their flavor and don't need the whole peppers. Chipotle's smoky flavor makes stews, barbecue sauces and the like taste as if they've been simmering for half a day when they really only spent an hour on the stove top.  In addition to the chipotle, I also added some cinnamon and unsweetened cocoa powder to the chili, both widely used in savory Mexican dishes.

Some ingredients in this recipe should not be fooled around with. The use of portobello mushrooms really gives the chili some heft and earthiness. The corn, which can be fresh or frozen, lends the chili some essential sweetness. Lastly, chili isn't really chili without lots of ground chili powder and cumin. As with most any recipe I post here that isn't a baked good, feel free to adapt the recipe below to suit your needs and your pantry.

Chipotle Portobello Chili
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's Vegetarian Chili
Makes about 6 servings 

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 chipotles in adobo, chopped and seeded if you don't like heat
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from chipotles
• 1 medium zucchini, peeled and diced
• 2 cups frozen or fresh corn
• 4 large portabello mushrooms, stems removed, wiped with a damp cloth and cubed
• 2 15 oz cans or 3 cups of cooked black beans 
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 28 oz can of whole or chopped tomatoes, juices included
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle or cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped and packed
• Optional: cubed avocado for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Toss in the bell pepper, garlic and onion. Cook until the onions are starting to become translucent, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the portobellos, corn and zucchini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and begin to brown in some spots.

3. Add the chili powder, cumin, chopped and dried chipotle, adobo sauce, cocoa, cinnamon and salt. Stir until all the ingredients are coated in the spices.

4. Mix in the stock, beans and the tomatoes, both fresh and canned. If using whole canned tomatoes, break them up with your hands first. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes.

5. Take the pot off the heat and add the cilantro. Serve with bread for dunking or over rice. Optionally garnish with avocado.