Notes: I had wanted to make this Jamie Oliver recipe for a while; a green fresh fish curry, completely different to all the great holiday food I’ve eaten. This got a medium rating because of all the chopping, otherwise it’s dead easy. My changes were: using fish in stead of chicken, using jalapenos instead of chilies, and skipping the lime leaves and pistachios. Rock fish worked well. Feel free to use any firm white fish. It is very citrusy and was not hot at all with the jalapenos. I served with Potatoes and Tomatoes cooked with Fresh Coconut (below), from World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey.
Prep time – 45 minutes, serves 4, cook time – 20 minutes, level-medium
Green Curry Paste:
6 spring onions, washed and trimmed
4 to 6 medium green chilies, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, pounded and crushed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 handful lime leaves, torn
2 lemon grass stalks, trimmed back and finely chopped
2 good handfuls fresh basil on the stalk
3 good handfuls fresh coriander on the stalk
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 limes, zested and juiced
4 chicken breasts without bone and skin, each cut into 5 large pieces
16 ounces coconut milk
1 handful chopped pistachio nuts
Put all the green curry paste ingredients in a food processor and whizz to a smooth green paste. Marinate the chicken in a little of the paste for 30 minutes, then add a little oil and the chicken pieces to a hot casserole-type pan or wok. Fry for 4 minutes, then add the remainder of the marinade — it will sizzle and spit. Stir in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Season to taste. The flavor should have a kick but be reasonably mellow — very fresh and fragrant.
Sprinkle with the pistachios and some coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice or noodles, and chunky coconut, tomato, cucumber and lime relish.
Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver, from the Naked Chef series
Potatoes and Tomatoes cooked with Fresh Coconut
Notes: Do not use an aluminum pot for this dish. I use dried ribbon coconut instead of the fresh grated. When you are buying dried coconut, make sure to get unsweetened! I usually skip/forget the sugar and red wine vinegar at the end, not for any particular reason.
Prep time – about 20 minutes, cook time – about 45 minutes, serves 6, level – easy
Ingredients
3 medium sized boiling potatoes (about 1 1/4 lbs)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 whole dried hot red pepper
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups freshly grated coconut
1/2 tsp ground termeric
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 1/4 lb fresh, red-ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced int 1/2″ pieces, or a 16-20 ounce can of Italian tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Peel the potatoes, them cut into 3/4″ dice and put into a bowl of cold water.
Heat the oil in a heavy, 3-quart pot over a medium high flame. When hot, put in the minced garlic. Stir for a bout 5 seconds, Nw put in the red pepper and cumin seeds. Stir for another 3 seconds. The garlic should brown lightly, the red pepper should darken, and the cumin seeds should sizzle. Lower the heat to medium, put in the grated coconut and stir it around for 10 – 15 seconds.
Drain the potatoes. Add them as well as the turmeric, ground cumin, tomatoes (including any juice that accumulated or the juice in then can), salt and 1 1/2 of water. Bring to a boil. cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir gently every 7 to 8 minutes during this cooking period.
PUt in the sugar and vinegar. Stir again and cook, uncovered, for 1 minute.
Source: World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey