Saturday, January 5, 2008

Potatoes and Chard with Green Curry Sauce

I realized that there are quite a few recipes that I didn't get around to posting last year. This is one of my faves. DH will actually eat greens so this recipe is a keeper. He rec doubling the sauce- that way there is enough to spoon over some steamed broccoli. I doubled everything for the sauce but only used a heavy 3 tablespoons of the green curry paste instead of 4 mostly because that was all there was in the jar. There is a nice heat to this dish and lots of flavor. I use regular, not light, coconut milk, rainbow chard (it's so pretty), and baby Yukon or gold potatoes. I've tried to find roasted peanut oil but haven't so I use just peanut oil. The last time I made this, I had a bit of extra chard but instead of adding it to the curry and risk turning DH off this recipe, I put it in my bowl and then topped the extra chard with the hot rice and curry. It added a nice extra texture to the dish and I'll probably always add a bit from now on.

Potatoes and Chard with Green Curry Sauce
Adapted from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

Serves 4 as a main course
1 1/2 tablespoon roasted or reg peanut oil
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 14-ounce cans unsweeten coconut milk, with 1 cup thickened coconut cream spooned off the top and reserved
3 1/2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 short cup water
2 pounds small potatoes, halved, halved again and then halved one last time
salt
4 ounces chard, thinly sliced (discard thick center stems) (about 3 cups)
1 short cup fresh cilantro leaves- loose and slightly cut
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, no more than 1 minute. Add the cup of thickened coconut cream and the curry paste. Simmer briskly until the liquid in the coconut cream evaporates and the mixture forms a very thick paste that sizzles in the pan, 2-3 minutes.

Add the remaining coconut milk, water, potatoes, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the chard, cover, and cook, stirring once, until the potatoes and chard are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt to taste, and serve.