Lightning fast Thai yellow curry. From scratch. No joke.

If you have a food processor, you can make this Thai yellow curry from scratch in roughly a half-hour.  It is a great (and delicious) way to use just about any type of vegetables that you happen to have lying around.  Tonight, we made it with Thai eggplant, long-stem green beans, and yellow squash, all from our CSA box (plus a cup of frozen broccoli florets tossed in for good measure).  It is particularly good with a couple cups of baby bok choy thrown in near the end of the cooking time. 

 

Thai Yellow Vegetable Curry
(from About.com, recipe by Darlene Schmidt)

For the sauce:
1-2 cans coconut milk
1/2 tsp. fenugreek
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. black mustard seeds
1-2 yellow chilies (or green or red chilies, either de-seeded or with seeds if you like more heat)
1 tbsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. ground turmeric
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-sized piece galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced thinly (or 2 tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass)
1/2 onion
3 tbsp. fish sauce or 4 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup cilantro, including the stems
2 tbs. brown sugar
juice of 1/2 lime
2-3 kaffir lime leaves, fresh or frozen, cut into strips (or 1/2 tbsp. lime zest)

2 tbs. Canola oil

Vegetables:
Any combo of your choice, in any amount of your choice, but probably at least 6 cups of vegetables and legumes.  Some ideas: 1 can fava beans, broad beans, or chick peas; approximately 2 cups bok choy, baby bok choy, or Chinese cabbage, chopped; 4-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced; 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced; 1 large carrot, sliced; 1 cup broccoli; 1 cup cauliflower.

Plus 1/2 to 1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped if the leaves are large.

Directions:

Put 1/2 can of coconut milk (reserving the rest for later) with all of the other sauce ingredients in a food processor.  Process well. 

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan over medium to high heat.  Add the curry paste and gently stir-fry for 1 minute, or until fragrant.

Add the reserved 1/2 can of coconut milk and stir.  Then add those vegetables that require the longest cooking time, such as carrots, mushrooms, and cauliflower.  Stir well and bring to a simmering boil.  Turn down heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Depending on how much sauce you prefer, plus how many vegetables you are cooking, add 1/2 to 1 can more of coconut milk.  Then add the rest of the vegetables.  Stir well and cover, allowing to cook for another 5 minutes until vegetables are tender.  (NOTE: Add bok choy/Chinese cabbage last, as these only take a minute or two and you want them still slightly crunchy.)

Remove from heat and do a taste test.  Add more salt or fish sauce/soy sauce if not salty enough.  If too bitter, add 1-2 tbsp. more brown sugar.  If it's too sweet, add more lime juice.

Sprinkle the curry with fresh basil and serve with plenty of rice.*

*We like black forbidden rice, but use whatever you like.  There are no rules here.

Carrots, two ways.

One of the first recipes that I remember making all by my lonesome was a delicious (and absurdly simple) rustic carrot soup that has since become a trusty favorite.  Many, many, nights I have whipped this up after a long day at work.  Served with some crusty bread and a side salad, this is a fantastic choice for an almost instant casual and fresh dinner.  I have also served it in an elegant dinner party setting, as a first course in tiny chilled soup tureens.  It is one of those wonderfully flexible recipes that can fit almost any occasion, be made vegetarian or not, and is equally good warm or chilled.  And it definitely gets a lot of play at our house during CSA season. 

Tonight, however, we decided we wanted to do something a little different.  We did not have to look any farther than the June 2011 issue of Food & Wine, which conveniently appeared in our mailbox yesterday.  Included was a feature in which the celebrated Richard Blais, who recently trumped all on Top Chef All Stars (we are dedicated fans), offered up several great-looking vegetable side dishes for grilling season.  If there is a flaw with Top Chef, it is that as the home viewer, your appreciation of the food is necessarily limited.  Blais' recipe for Ginger-Lime Baby Carrots offered the perfect opportunity for us to use our CSA carrots and see for ourselves why Padma and Tom and Company go all ga ga for this guy.  Spoiler alert: the hype is well deserved. 

Both recipes are below.

French Cream of Carrot Soup
(modified slightly from Jean Hewitt's International Meatless Cookbook (c) 1980)

3 tbs butter
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 lbs carrots (approx. 8 medium-sized)
1 small white turnip, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup half & half

In a heavy kettle or Dutch oven, heat the butter and saute the onion until tender but not browned.  Add the carrots and turnip and cook, stirring 5 to 8 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.  Puree the mixture in batches in an electric blender or food processer and return to the kettle.  Stir in the cream.  Reheat but do not boil.

Can be served warm or chilled.

Ginger-Lime Baby Carrots
By Richard Blais, published in the June 2011 issue of Food & Wine

24 baby carrots, tops trimmed to 2 inches
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha
Salt
1 tablespoon furikake*
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the carrots until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the carrots.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots, ginger and cinnamon and cook over moderate heat, tossing occasionally, until the ginger is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and boil over moderately high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let cool for 30 seconds. Swirl in the butter, lime juice and Sriracha and season with salt. Arrange the carrots on a platter and spoon the ginger-lime sauce on top. Sprinkle with the furikake and serve.

*Furikake is available at Asian markets and many specialty food stores.  It is also delicious by its own on plain rice.

Pay no attention to the nose in the corner.