Green Curry Stir Fry

From Stonesoup

The idea for using Thai green curry paste as a sauce to season a stir fry came from my favourite food writer, Nigel Slater. To be honest I wasn’t sure it would be very good but as usual when I trust St. Nigel everything turns out much more delicious that expected.

Enough for 2-3
2 heads broccoli, chopped into little trees
450g (1lb) minced (ground) chicken
3-4 tablespoons green curry paste
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 bunch basil, leaves picked & torn if large

1. Heat a little oil in a wok or large frying pan on a super high heat. Stir fry the broccoli until it is bright green and starting to soften but still a little crunchy. About 4-5 minutes.

2. Remove broccoli from the pan. Add a little more oil then stir fry the chicken until no longer pink.

3. Add back the broccoli, curry paste and fish sauce. Stir until everything is hot.

4. Remove from the heat. Taste and season with more fish sauce and curry paste if needed.

5. Serve with basil leaves scattered over.

VARIATIONS
different veg – any stir fry veg will work here. Try bok choy, chinese broccoli, any chinese greens really, broccolini, cauliflower, red capsicum (bell peppers), zucchini (courgettes), carrots, snow peas (mange tout), green beans or a combo of any of the above.

vegetarian / vegan – replace the chicken with 2-3 large handfuls of cashew nuts. And season with soy sauce or salt instead of the fish sauce. And make sure your green curry paste is vegetarian. Most brands are but good to check.

can’t find green curry paste? – most other curry pastes will be good but you’ll need to adjust the quantity depending on the variety. OR just go for a simpler stir fry and use soy, oyster or hoisin sauce instead of the curry paste.

no fish sauce? – season with salt OR use soy sauce instead.

different meat – replace chicken with minced (ground) beef, pork or turkey. You could also use sliced meat instead of the mince if you prefer.

more substantial – serve with roast cashew nuts and steamed rice on the side.

simple fish stew
From Stonesoup
serves 3-4

I like to serve this stew in deep bowls with a fresh green salad on the side. But feel free to serve with crusty bread if you prefer.

I’ve written the method for those that want to make this in advance and reheat. Of course if you’re ready to eat it straight away just simmer until the fish is just cooked. Then serve.

2 onions, peeled & chopped
1 large bulb fennel,trimmed & finely sliced crosswise, green fronds reserved
1 jar commercial tomato pasta sauce or tomato puree (about 1 1/2cups)
large pinch saffron threads
500g (1lb) white fish fillets such as flathead, chopped

1. Heat a generous glug of oil in a large pot. Add onions and cook over a medium low heat, covered for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the fennel and continue to cook, covered and stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes or until the onion and fennel are soft but not browned.

3. Add the tomato puree, 1 1/2 cups water and saffron. Bring to a simmer.

4. Add fish and cook for about 1 minute. Then remove from the heat. Cool and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve (will keep for 3-4 days, possibly longer).

5. To reheat, bring back to a gentle simmer and cook until fish is cooked through. Taste & season. Top with reserved fennel fronds if you have them.

VARIATIONS
short on time? – skip the veg and just simmer the fish in the tomato / water / saffron mixture.

vegetarian / vegan – replace the fish with firm tofu. It will just need to simmer until hot.

keeping the Irish happy – add steamed, sliced potatoes in with the fish.

mixed seafood – feel free to add in some prawns (shrimp), clams or mussels. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.

the magic sausage supper
From Stonesoup
serves 2-3

So you’re probably wondering where the ‘magic’ comes from. It’s all about how this dish turns some pretty common ingredients into something truly delicious. All it takes is a little time in the oven.

This is one of those dishes that’s best served at the table in the roasting pan so everyone can help themselves and pick at the crispy bits on the bottom of the pan.

1/2 butternut pumpkin (squash)
2 medium onions, quartered lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
4 thick sausages
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).

2. Halve pumpkin crosswise then chop into wedges. Place pumpkin, onion, chilli and sausages in a roasting dish. Drizzle generously with olive oil.

3. Roast for about an hour, stirring at the half way mark. It’s ready when everything is golden and tender.

4. Serve with parsley leaves sprinkled over the top.

VARIATIONS
different veg – feel free to play around. Parsnips and sweet potato are lovely. Unpeeled cloves of garlic are also great.

no sausages? – use chicken drumsticks or thighs instead.

spanish – use fresh chorizo as your sausage and toss in a can of drained chickpeas instead of the pumpkin.

vegan – replace sausages with field mushrooms.

vegetarian - skip the sausages and serve the roast veg with a poached or fried egg on top.

coconut chicken with greens
From Stonesoup
serves 2

One of the things I don’t love about chicken breast is that it drys out easily. The gentle poaching in coconut milk here keeps our chicken breasts lovely and moist.

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 small chicken breasts
1 can coconut milk (400mL / 1.5 cups)
1 large bag spinach leaves

1. Heat a little oil in a small saucepan. Cook garlic on a medium heat for 30 seconds or until just starting to brown.

2. Add chicken and cooconut milk and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 5 minutes.

3. Cover. Remove from the heat and stand for 20 minutes.

4. When the time is up, remove chicken from the pan and slice finely. Divide between two plates.

5. Add spinach to the pot and simmer until the spinach has just wilted. Season generously and serve greens and sauce with the chicken.

VARIATIONS
short on time? – skip the garlic and simmer the chicken for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Skip the standing step.

different greens – most greens will work well here, kale, silver beet, chard, cavolo nero even chinese broccoli or bok choy.

hot! – add in a little dried chilli with the coconut milk.

vegetarian / vegan – replace the chicken with 200g (7oz) dried red or green (puy / french-style) lentils. Simmer, uncovered in the coconut milk until lentils are tender (10-20 minutes). If it dries out too much add a little water.

herby – serve sprinkled with fresh basil or coriander (cilantro) leaves.

warm sprouted quinoa salad
From Stonesoup
serves 2

I love the texture of sprouted quinoa. They are the cutest looking sprouts as well. Although, my Irishman mentioned that they look like little sperms when we were having this salad for lunch recently. For some reason I feel compelled to share that tidbit. Please don’t let that put you off!

200g (7oz) sprouted quinoa
1 tablespoon sherry or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 bag frozen peas (250g / 9oz)
small handful goats cheese

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Add quinoa and cook for 3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine vinegar, soy sauce and 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a bowl.

3. After 3 minutes add peas to the quinoa pot. Cook for another minute or until peas are defrosted.

4. Drain quinoa and peas. Toss in the dressing and divide between 2 plates. Top with goats cheese.

VARIATIONS
short on time? – use regular (unsprouted) quinoa (100g / 3.5oz) and simmer it for 10 minutes before adding the peas.

pea-free – I love this salad with steamed broccoli instead of the peas. You could boil the broccoli in the water first then add the quinoa for the last 3 or so minutes of cooking.

dairy-free / vegan – replace goats cheese with roasted almonds.

soy-free – skip the soy sauce and season the dressing with salt instead.

can’t find quinoa? – use sprouted or unsprouted brown rice or barley instead. Adjust the cooking time.

‘paleo’ bread
From Stonesoup
makes 1 loaf

Adapted from ‘Better Breads’ a free bonus ebook that accompanies ‘Guilt-Free Desserts‘ by Kelley Herring.

Don’t be alarmed by the number of eggs. Coconut flour is much lower in protein than wheat flour, so the eggs are needed to give enough protein in our loaf.

165g (6oz) coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
250g (9oz) butter, melted
12 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line a loaf pan with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl combine coconut flour, baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Make a ‘well’ in the middle of the flour.

3. Add eggs and butter in the well. Whisk to combine, but don’t stress if there are a few lumps.

4. Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan. Smooth the top.

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until the loaf is well browned and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack before eating.

VARIATIONS
dairy-free – replace butter with 1 cup light flavoured olive oil or other mild flavoured oil.

vegan / egg-free – I’m afraid the eggs are critical to the bread texture so best to stick to regular sourdough.

flavoured bread – feel free to add a few handfuls of your favourite flavourings like rosemary, roast cubed potato, seeds, nuts, roast garlic, caramelized onion. Whatever you feel like.

fruit loaf – stir in a few handfuls of dried fruit. I love figs or apricots. Almonds are also good.

can’t find coconut flour? – best to stick to regular bread like my rustic loaf over here.

cauliflower ‘couscous’ with goats cheese
From Stonesoup
serves 3-4

Cauliflower has to be one of the most underrated vegetables. Like its cousin broccoli, it’s chocked full of nutrients. But the lack of green colour means it doesn’t feel as ‘healthy’ as other greens. This can be a benefit though if you’re looking for a ‘stealth’ veggie.

2 onions, peeled & chopped
1 cauliflower
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves picked
2 handfuls goats cheese

1. Soften onion with a little oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Stirring occasionally it will take between 5-10 minutes.

2. Grate cauliflower using your food processor. Or just whizz the cauli until very finely chopped.

3. When the onion is soft add cauli and coriander to the pan. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until cauli is soft and starting to brown – about 5 minutes.

4. Season. Serve cauli topped with coriander and crumbled goats cheese.

VARIATIONS
vegan / dairy-free – replace goats cheese with avocado or roasted pine nuts.

budget – replace goats cheese with ricotta, yoghurt or cottage cheese.

carnivore – serve as a side dish to roast chicken, grilled chicken breasts or lamb cutlets.

green couscous – replace cauli with broccoli.

less serves – feel free to halve or quarter this recipe as needed.

croissant surprise birthday cake
From Stonesoup
serves 6-8

This cake is every bit as delicious as it looks – maybe more so. When I was editing the photos just now, I had a strong urge to bake it again even though I should be packing and writing to you. It’s that good (if I do say so myself).

If you’re wondering about the ‘surprise’ it’s all about a hidden layer of rich dark chocolate.

600mL (2.5 cups) whipping cream (35% milk fat)
3 eggs
100g (3.5oz) sugar
3 large croissants
small handful dark chocolate, broken into chunks

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line the base and sides of a loaf pan with baking paper.

2. Combine cream eggs and sugar in a large bowl.

3. Slice croissants into rounds about 1cm (1/2in) thick. Add to the cream mixture and stand for a few minutes allowing the croissants to soak up the custard.

4. Layer half the soaked croissants in the prepared loaf pan. Scatter over the chocolate.

5. Layer remaining croissants over the top and pour any leftover custard on top.

6. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the cake is well browned and you can’t see any liquid custard when you press on the top. Cool in the tin.

VARIATIONS
diary-free – replace the croissants with about 8 thick slices of bread and replace the cream with coconut cream.

milk chocolate – I love the dark chocolate version but I’m happy to report that it’s also lovely, if a little sweeter using milk chocolate.

vegan/ egg-free - Sorry! The eggs are really needed for texture and flavour here.

vanilla / chocolate-free - skip the chocolate and add the seeds of 1 vanilla bean to the cream mixture.

boozy – replace some of the cream with Baileys.

individual – divide mixture between 4-5 large ramekins. Should only take 15-20 minutes to bake.

roast broccoli with creamy feta
From Stonesoup
serves 2

I’ve been roasting cauliflower for ages but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I even thought to try roasting broccoli. I’m happy to report that the results were seriously good – with a lovely complex deep flavour – a whole world away from boring old boiled broccoli.

It does take a little longer, but you can easily do other things while the broccoli happily roasts away.

The other thing I love about this dish is slicing the broccoli. It gives more interesting textures than when the broccoli is chopped into florettes like usual.

2 heads broccoli
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
200g (7oz) feta
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt

1. Preheat your oven to 200C (400F).

2. Slice broccoli lengthwise into slices about 1cm (1/2in) thick. Drizzle with a little oil.

3. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the brocc is tender and browned on the edges. Drizzle with vinegar.

4. Meanwhile mash feta with the yoghurt and spread on the base of 2 plates. Top with cooked broccoli.

VARIATIONS
vegan / dairy-free – serve roast broccoli on a bed of hummus instead of the creamy feta.

more substantial – toss in a drained can of chickpeas with the broccoli.

hot! – serve drizzled with chilli oil or your favourite hot sauce.

carnivore – slice some chorizo and roast in with the broccoli.

cauliflower - replace broccoli with a large head of cauli.

‘paleo’ banana bread
From Stonesoup
makes about 8 slices

Adapted from the ‘banana and walnut muffins’ in Guilt-Free Desserts by Kelley Herring.

The brand of natural sweetener I’ve been using is called ‘Natvia’ and it’s actually a blend of stevia and erythritol. If you can’t find it you could use plain erythritol and a few drops of liquid stevia. But if you can’t find any of those, best to just use sugar – see variations below.

2 bananas
150g (5oz) butter, melted
6 eggs
100g (3.5oz) erythtirol / stevia blend
65g (2.25oz) coconut flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line a small loaf pan with baking paper.

2. Peel and mash bananas. Combine with butter, eggs and the erythtirol / stevia blend.

3. Whisk in the coconut flour and baking powder. Transfer to your prepared load pan.

4. Bake for 40 minutes or until the ‘bread’ is well browned and feels firm and springy.

VARIATIONS
real sugar – replace stevia / erythritol blend with 200g (7oz) brown or white sugar.

dairy-free – replace butter with a neutral flavoured oil. Macadamia oil is great if you can find it.

egg-free / vegan – Sorry! I’m afraid you really need the eggs to provide protein not available in coconut flour.

can’t find coconut flour? – I haven’t tried this, but if I was going to use regular wheat flour I’d reduce the eggs to 3 and use 250g (9oz) plain flour or almond meal instead of the coconut flour.

nuts! – feel free to add in a few handfuls of roasted walnuts, pecans or brazil nuts.