Coconut Lime Rice with Beans and Mango

I am always looking for a new an interesting cookbook.  The latest that I have come across is Thug Kitchen.  I can't say I have ever read a cookbook which has swearing in it, so because I was curious as it had gotten so many good reviews on Amazon, I borrowed it from the library to check out.  Most recipes are pretty simple and the couple that I tried were very flavorful.  The combination of flavors as well was interesting and unusual, so I wasn't sure I would enjoy them.  I am also not very good with sweet and savory flavors combined in one dish, but for this one it worked out.  I didn't think the mango flavor was very strong, so it didn't bother me like it does so often.  The star flavoring of this dish is definitely the lime.  I am always surprised that zest can add so much flavor as it does in this dish.  This is meant to be a side which will serve 4-6 people, but I find it can serve much more than that.

Coconut Lime Rice with Beans and Mango

1 1/2 cups short grain rice

2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 cup diced onions

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

1 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 mango, cut into cubes

2 cans red beans (15 oz. cans), rinsed

grated zest and juice of 1 lime

Rinse rice under cold water.  Heat the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.  Add the onions and saute until they start to brown in some spots, about 3 minutes.  Add the ginger and saute for a further 30 seconds until aromatic.  Add the rice and keep stirring until the rice is slightly toasted.  Add the coconut milk, stock, salt and cayenne pepper.  Bring to a simmer, then turn down heat to low (but not too low as it need to continue to simmer).  It should simmer for about 35 minutes or until the rice is tender.  If you run out of liquid before the rice is done, just add more vegetable stock.

While the rice is cooking, chop up the mango into cubes.  When the rice is done, fold in the beans, lime zest and mango.  Let it cook together for another few minutes until hot throughout.  Serve as a side.

Butternut Squash soup with meatballs

This was one among many recipes I decided to focus on in my new Scandinavian Cooking.  I had previously posted that I wanted to try to cook as many recipes from this book as possible, but I would like to amend that goal.  Since I received several new cookbooks for Christmas and would like to cook from all of them, I am going to pick a new cookbook each month on which to focus my energy to ensure I give them a good test and not just a couple of recipes.  Since my cookbook collection is quite extensive this will be a good way to get to know more of them and keep the variety in which I love to cook.  Since I know many of my cookbooks well, I can usually name the book that has the ideas, flavors or guidelines (aka recipes) that I want to create or use as a basis for something else.

This recipe does come from Scandinavian Cooking which I will continue to focus on through the month, but I look forward to cracking into some of the other cookbooks that I have on my shelf for the flavors that I have been craving.  Recently, I have been loving squashes which I never really liked as a child.  This is just one of many recipes I have been making with them.  This one throws in meatballs which I like as something different than just a vegetable soup, which I love as well.

Squash Soup with Meatballs
1 butternut squash (on the small to medium side), peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion (yellow), diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 parsnip
1 can coconut milk (14 oz.)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon (juiced)

Meatballs
1 pound ground lamb
4 oz. neufchatel cheese
2 teaspoons green curry paste
1 teaspoon salt

Put a soup pot on high with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Quickly fry the pumpkin, onion, garlic and parsnip.  Once quickly fried, add the coconut milk, about 2.5 cups of water, and salt (1 teaspoon).  Turn the heat down and simmer until the vegetables are soft.  Mix the soup with an immersion stick blender.  Season with the pepper and lemon juice.  Mix the meatball ingredients together.  Shape into meatballs and add them to the soup.  Simmer until down, which should be about 10 minutes, but will vary depending on the size of the meatballs.  Serve hot.  I also love to eat with fresh crusty sourdough, but any crusty bread will do.  Makes about 4 servings.

Cannellini Bean Curry

One of my favorite things to eat when it gets cold out or when I am craving some spicier food is curry.  I never ate it growing up and had no idea what I was missing until I tried Indian food.  Of course I am sure a lot of the food we get in the U.S. is in no way similar to food eaten in India.  However, I have accumulated a few different Indian cookbooks trying to get more authentic Indian food.  (Of course I ate this with a pita bread so I didn't really carry the Indian food theme through all the way.)  Another of my comfort foods is white beans.  Any recipe that has beans in it never has enough for me.  In the same way I tend to minimize meat and add more vegetables.  So this recipe is based off one from Anjum's New Indian with changed to fit how I like to cook and eat, but I would expect the same from anyone cooking off of my modified recipes.

Cannellini Bean Curry (serves about 4)
1/4 olive oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped (or microplaned as it bring out the ginger flavor)
5 large cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ground corriander
2/3 cup good quality coconut milk
2 cans of cannellini beans drained and rinsed
6 - 10 oz. cherry tomatoes (more if you like them or less if you don't), halved
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon tamarind paste
fresh cilantro to garnish

Heat oil in a large pan.  Once heated add the mustard seeds.  Once they pop, add the onion and cook until it is soft and golden.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the salt to taste and the powdered spices and stir for about 10 seconds.  Add the coconut milk and 3/4 cup water and bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the beans and tomatoes and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  Stir in the sugar and tamarind pasta.  If you like it a bit thicker mash some of the beans against the side of the pan.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  Garnish with cilantro and serve. 

Green Curry with Shrimp

I had never eaten, nor heard of curry until I was a high school exchange student to New Zealand.  Several people talked about curry, but I didn't have any idea what I was in for the first time I tried it.  I am pretty sure the first one I tried was a yellow curry, but to be honest it didn't leave an impression in my mind until much later.  Then I remember my first job out of college.  A coworker and I would go out to eat for Indian food as there was a restaurant not too far from work.  I tried all sorts of different dishes, but again only had yellow curry.  It wasn't until much later, when I was living in Germany, that I began to eat curries on a regular basis.  I think it may have been there that I tried red and green curry for the first time.  At least there it was memorable, but I never had the inclination to try to make it.  The local curry place was cheap and delicious, so why would I bother to try it out?

So with the memory of these two really good curries in my brain, I searched for a good curry near where I live.  There are a few that are decent, but I never realized how easy it is to make at home.  This autumn I stumbled upon the cookbook Keepers.  I read reviews and changed my mind about buying it, but finally around Christmas when I was experimenting with quicker dinners to prepare on weeknights, I decided to buy it.  It is by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion.  This Green Curry recipe is based off the one in their cookbook.  If you like curry at all, I would give this recipe a shot as it is a quick weeknight meal, reheats well and tastes great.



Green Curry
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 (13 oz) can coconut milk
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 red pepper, diced
2 scallions, sliced
1 lime

Steamed rice (prepared, or at least started to cook before beginning the curry)

In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Add the curry paste and anchovy paste, cook until fragrant.  Add the coconut milk and brown sugar.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce starts to thicken.  Add the red pepper and bring to a simmer.  Add the shrimp and simmer until shrimp are nearly cooked.  (Do not over cook the shrimp.)  Stir in the scallions and a squeeze of lime juice.  Recheck the seasonings.  Serve with the steamed rice.

I have plans to add more vegetables to this curry as well like zucchini, and sugar snap peas.  This also reheats well.