Fresh Vegetable Curry; ger ready to riff!

You just know it when something doesn't sound quite right. Examples abound. Giving Chrysler several billion dollars to flush down the toilet? Come on, would you trust anyone who produced the PT Cruiser? Sending Mario Batali AND Gywneth Paltrow to run around annoying the country of Spain? What, did someone in Spain piss off an PBS producer at some point? I could go on. For our purposes though I'll relate it to this recipe. I've had this Food and Wine Magazine article that has had several delicious Indian dishes (here and here for example) filed away for some time, meaning to make this fresh veg curry. But it just didn't seem to have enough kick in its original version. Indian food is all about vivid, complex flavors. The FandW version had maybe two strong flavoring agents.. As w says, any good Indian dish has to have at least, at a minimum, three and hopefully more of the basics: chili pepper, cumin, cayenne, ginger, turmeric, etc. The recipe below, which paired beautifully with a perfect piece of grilled wild sockeye salmon, fills that bill nicely. It is easy, wildly adaptable to various veggie ingredients (I subbed fresh spring asparagus for their suggested green beans), and beats the hell out of some steamed broccoli!

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Fresh Vegetable Curry
adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely julienned fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece)
1 jalapeño, seeded and cut into thin strips
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 small tomatoes, coarsely chopped
One 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup water
Kosher salt
3 carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound butternut squash (neck only), peeled and cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 to 1 pound fresh asaparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
Basmati rice, for serving


method:
1. In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion, ginger, jalapeño and bay leaves and cook over moderate heat until softened, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mash lightly until just beginning to soften, 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and water; season with salt. Bring to a boil.

2. Add the carrots, cover and simmer over low heat until crisp-tender, about 12 minutes. Add the squash and beans, cover and simmer until tender, 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Serve with basmati rice.

Brussels baggage? Get over it!!

"EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!!" For a lot of us, that scarring refrain from childhood always evokes memories of lifeless, stringy asparagus, sadly limp, marginally-green green beans, or worse...Brussels sprouts! Any mention of them as a veggie side was greeted with that face. But with age comes growth, and in the last few years I've managed to put my Brussels baggage back in the cooking closet where it belongs. These midget cabbages that have been kicked around the vegetable patch like no others have now found a regular place on the dinner plates at our house. Steamed, blanched, grilled, sautéed with pancetta...they take well to so many different approaches that they're impossible not to like for the creative cook. And the following recipe has become our latest favorite, something w can whip up in no time. From Aliza Green's great cooking tome Starting With Ingredients, this recipe perfectly showcases the fresh, slightly earthy crunch of the sprout highlighted by a light drizzle of balsamic. If your old sprout scars open up at the mere thought of eating one, try this Brussels bandage!
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Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Syrup
From Aliza Green's "Starting With Ingredients"


ingredients:
1 pint Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic syrup (recipe below)

method:
Trim off bottom of the Brussels sprouts and cut in half lengthwise. Preheat a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) and add the olive oil. Place the Brussels sprouts halves cut-side down in the skillet and brown for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn sprouts over individually and continue to cooking for about 2 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, arrange on serving plates and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic syrup over each plate. Serve immediately.
*Cooks Note: We've also had these without the syrup and loved the simple preparation.
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Balsamic Syrup
ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey

method:
Combine all ingredients in a medium, heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until bubbling and thickened to a light syrup, about 10 minutes. Store at room temperature.