May 22, 2012
Roasted Curried Cauliflower

Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that some people love and other people don’t get.  It’s white.  It’s crunchy.  It’s innocuous on the taste spectrum.  Roasting cauliflower in homemade curry, however, takes it from nothing special to yum-o.

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cleaned and cut into florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons madras curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
the juice of half a lemon
cilantro, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, cook the shallots for 2-3 minutes, until translucent.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the curry, cumin, and paprika and mix until it resembles a paste.  Remove from heat and whisk in heavy cream until spices dissolve.  Season with salt.

Add cauliflower and gently toss, coating each floret in curry.  Transfer skillet to the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, until toasted and tender.  Garnish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and fresh cilantro.  Serve immediately.

Spicy, flavorful, and a delicious break from the status quo, this curried cauliflower is the perfect antidote to a rainy day.  Serve it alongside juicy chicken or a delicate white fish.  Scrumptious.

Recipe adapted from A Cozy Kitchen.

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Filed under: curry cauliflower cooking recipe vegetarian 
April 27, 2012
Fresh Tomato and Squash Curry

I should call this refrigerator curry.  Essentially the curry version of the refrigerator soups I make so often, this curry was born of produce that screamed “use it or lose it” from the crisper.

First I diced and sautéed half an onion over medium heat in a splash of olive oil.  I seasoned the onion with salt, cumin, and some phenomenal homemade garam masala that was a gift from Marlene.  I allowed the onions and spices to cook together for a good 5-10 minutes, until the onions were thoroughly browned and fragrant.  I then added two large diced tomatoes.  Ordinarily one might use canned tomatoes, but why use canned when you have fresh?  The onion and tomato mixture cooked for another 5 minutes or so, allowing the favors to meld and the sauce to thicken.

I then added one large chopped zucchini and the bulb part of a butternut squash (leftover from the squash fries), cubed.  I added a healthy splash (1/4 cup or so) of vegetable stock and simmered, covered, for 20-25 minutes, until the squash was tender and cooked through.

I topped the curry with a dollop of Greek yogurt and some fresh cilantro.  It was out of this world delicious.  Aromatic, wholesome, and robust without being heavy, this squash curry was perfect for the wet and chilly spring weather we’ve had lately.

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Filed under: curry delicious squash tomato vegetarian cooking recipe 
March 14, 2012
Split Pea Soup with Curried Brown Butter

I credit my love of split pea soup to one of my childhood best friends, Crystal, and her mother, Tudi.  I’m sure I had split pea soup dozens of times before I had Tudi’s, but for whatever reasons hers knocked me off my feet.  I was crazy for it.  From then on, Tudi would often invite me over when she made it, knowing how much I loved it.

Tudi did a lot of nice things for me and Crystal over the years.  Most notably, she let us make her wedding cake.  At age thirteen.  At the time, it seemed perfectly reasonable.  We both liked to bake, and we made a damn good Pillsbury cake.  Now, I wonder what she was thinking.  Talk about unconditional love.

Until recently, I’d never made a split pea soup of my own.  I’d incorporated split peas into dozens of soups, but for some reason never devoted a soup to the humble (yet supremely tasty) legume.  I feel like I should do some sort of penance.

The inspiration for this soup comes from the ever-talented Heidi of 101 Cookbooks.  I substituted split peas for her intended green lentils simply because that’s what I had on hand.  Lentils, consider yourselves on notice: next time I’m coming for you.

For the soup: Sauté half an onion (diced), a clove or two of garlic (minced), and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes in a tablespoon of butter, salting to sweat.  Once onions are softened and translucent, add 3/4 cup split peas and 4 cups vegetable stock or water.  Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until split peas are softened.

For the curried brown butter: Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and allow to brown.  Once browned, add 1/2 tablespoon garam masala and stir until fragrant (less than a minute).  Remove from heat.

Once split peas are cooked, remove from heat.  Add half the browned butter and a generous splash (think 1/8+ cup) of milk.  Blend with an immersion blender as you like, leaving a bit chunky or until perfectly smooth.  Season to taste.  Serve with a drizzle of curried brown butter and a hunk of crusty bread.

Earthy, mellow, and visually alluring, this soup is the perfect transition to spring.  Bright split peas and clean flavors are rounded out with a bit of buttery warm spice.  The curried brown butter is delightfully aromatic and unbelievably delicious when dunked with soft bread.  Just when you think you know split peas, this soup goes and one-ups you.  It’s so damn good.

Serves two.  Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

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Filed under: split pea soup curry brown butter cooking recipe vegetarian 
January 23, 2012
Curry Two Ways

I cracked open a can of coconut milk and attempted to make curry for dinner twice last week.  Both times were pretty meh.  Not bad, not good.  No burst of flavor.

The first time I simmered coconut milk with green curry paste and peanut butter, alongside broccoli and eggplant and mushrooms and bok choy.  I served everything atop garlicky black rice.  The second time I omitted the peanut butter and upped the ratio of coconut milk to curry paste.  Same veggies as the first time but no rice, as lacked the time/desire to cook it.

I assumed there was enough salt between the curry paste and the coconut milk, but next time I’ll probably add some soy sauce to the mix.  A hot chili or two wouldn’t go astray either.  The curries lacked zing.  I should also dig out my recipes from Chiang Mai.  That was error number one.

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Filed under: curry vegetarian cooking blah 
January 20, 2012
Curried Green Goddess Soup

Upon my return from New York I had a refrigerator full of rapidly-expiring produce and a hankering for something healthy and homemade.  That, and a jar of green curry paste I was itching to crack open.  Emboldened by my ginger miso carrot soup success I envisioned similar flavors with a green curry base.  And dove right in.

As with the original green goddess soup I made, this soup was quite the refrigerator soup: onions, carrots, zucchini, kale, spinach — anything we had on hand was added to the pot.  I even added a parmesan rind to the stock as it simmered for good measure.  As for the bright Asian flavors, I used garlic, ginger, green curry paste, and miso paste.  But not in that order.

First I sautéed a whole diced onion with two small carrots in some canola oil.  Once they were softened, I added a couple small cloves of garlic and about an inch of ginger, diced.  I then added two small zucchini (chopped), six cups of water, all the split peas I had on hand (about 3/4 cup), a heaping teaspoon of green curry paste, and a leftover parmesan rind I’d been saving for my next soup.  I covered and simmered for 20-25 minutes or so.

Once the soup was aromatic and all the veggies cooked through, I added 6-8 dinosaur kale leaves (chopped) and 4 gigantic fistfuls of spinach.  The kale and the spinach blanched instantaneously into a gorgeous vibrant green.  I blended the soup, added a heaping tablespoon of miso paste (stirring to dissolve and combine), and blended some more.  Voilá.

Served with a healthy dollop of Greek yogurt, a light dusting of cayenne pepper (I intentionally left chilies out of the soup in the hopes that the landlord might have some, but alas), and a drizzle of sesame oil.  The same bright and zesty flavors as in the ginger miso carrot, but heartier.  A gorgeous soup you can feel good about eating any day of the year.  Especially after a gluttonous trip to New York.

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(Notes: 8)
  
Filed under: green goddess soup curry miso vegetarian cooking recipe healthy 
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