Curried Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk

This recipe comes from my friend, Carla. I have tried it with pumpkin and with butternut squash, and today I am trying it with banana squash (a huge winter squash that I got from my son who works on a farm.) I'm worried about the stringy-ness of the banana squash, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

This is one of those vague "add as much as you want" type recipes. Soups are pretty forgiving and you can adjust texture and flavor as you go. Taste often until you get it just how you like it.

Here's What You'll Need

• Cooked pumpkin, butternut squash, or other winter squash
• 2 cans coconut milk
• 1 onion
• celery
• kafir lime leaves (can be found at your local Asian market)
• curry paste (thai works best here)
• veggie broth or water to thin the soup
• 1 pkg tofu
• soy sauce
• lemongrass (optional, also found at the Asian market)
• 1-2 limes
• chili-lime cashews (found at Trader Joes) or plain cashews

Here's What You Do

• Saute one chopped onion and 1/2 cup chopped celery in some olive oil.
• Mix 1/3 can coconut milk with 1 T. thai curry paste. (You could certainly use other kinds of curry paste, but this one goes particularly well with the lemongrass and kafir lime leaves in the recipe.) Add this to the onion & celery after it has softened.
• Add the rest of your can of coconut milk to the pan.
• Pulverize 3-4 kafir lime leaves in a blender, food processor, or spice grinder. Add this to the pan as well.
• Open a second can of coconut milk. Put cooked pumpkin (or other winter squash) in your food processor with about half the can. Process until smooth. Add to soup. Repeat with any remaining pumpkin. If you have any coconut milk left in the can, add it to the soup.
• You can add some veggie broth if you want to thin the soup out to a more "soupy" consistency.
• Cut up one or two stalks of lemongrass (the tender, pale inner parts only) and add to the soup.
• Cut one brick of firm tofu into cubes and marinate it in soy sauce.
• Let the soup cook for awhile.
• Toward the end of the cooking time, add the marinated tofu, the juice of one lime, 3/4 cup of peas, and some chili-lime cashews (found at Trader Joe's, or you can use plain cashews).
• Taste for salt and flavor balance. You can add more lime juice, more soy sauce, more curry paste, or anything else you think will help balance the flavors. (I added a little caramel syrup last time which provided the perfect sweetness to complement the winter squash.)

Extra lemongrass or cilantro would make nice garnishes for this soup.

Winter Squash Green Curry

Oh my goodness, this is good. I only recently learned that the term "curry" just means a combination of spices. This combination of herbs and spices is all fresh (well, nearly) - no curry powder, no pre-prepared curry paste - you make your own. This is SOOO tasty and so worth the effort. I will absolutely be making this again. The recipe says it serves four, but my husband and I had it 3 times with some still left in the freezer. This makes it economical in addition to being super tasty.

This dish features, mushrooms, eggplant, tofu (though you could substitute chicken or some other form of meat), and of course, butternut squash. I used those long, skinny Asian eggplant for this dish. I found them at my local Asian market. They sometimes come in my CSA box, too. I'm sure any eggplant will do. I must admit that I am only beginning to get comfortable with eggplant, but it blended perfectly into this dish and I didn't even really know it was there. The real star of this dish is the homemade curry paste and the coconut milk. YUM!

Let's Get Started

Before you make your own super-fresh curry paste, you should start some rice cooking and prep your veggies. (I put a few slices of ginger into my rice, which turned out very nicely.)

Pour 1 and 1/2 cups boiling water over 8 dried shiitake mushrooms. (Dried shiitakes were ridiculously expensive, so I bought fresh since they happened to be there. I paid only $1.32 for 10 shiitakes. Since the recipe called for the soaking liquid later on, I decided to clean the mushrooms and then pour hot water over them to have some broth to use later in the recipe. It worked.) Quarter 2 long skinny eggplants (6 oz. each) and cut them into 1/2 inch dice. Sprinkle with salt and set them in a colander to drain. Peel 1 small butternut squash (1 1/4 pounds or so), scoop out and discard the seeds and inner pulp, and cut it into 3/4 inch chunks.

While the mushrooms are soaking and the eggplant is expelling water, you can get started on the curry paste. (I actually made this several hours in advance of preparing the rest of the meal, though it didn't actually take that long, especially with a food processor.) Just put all the following ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth paste. Add extra lime juice or water to loosen up the mixture if necessary:

• 3 or 4 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 -2 inch knob of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks lemon grass, just the tender centers
• 3-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 shallots (1/3 cup), chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (it's fine to include the stems in this)
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 2 t. ground coriander
• 1 t. salt
• zest and juice of one lime (Limes were really expensive and I had lemons on my tree, so I used those instead)

Once you have the curry paste prepared and waiting in the wings, remove the mushrooms from their soaking water, squeeze them out, and save the soaking water. Cut them into wide strips, discarding any tough stems. Rinse the eggplant and blot it dry.

Heat 1 T. oil (I used olive oil, but the recipe calls for peanut oil) in a wide skillet. Add the eggplant and turn it quickly in the oil to coat all pieces. Cook over medium-high heat just to brown the cut surface, 4 to 5 minutes. Open one can of coconut milk and have it standing by.

In a large dutch oven (big pot), heat 2 T. oil. Add the squash and cook over medium-high heat, turning every so often, until caramelized in places. After several minutes, add the eggplant, reduce the heat to medium. Pour in one can coconut milk, the mushroom soaking water, the mushrooms, and 2/3 of the curry paste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is tender, by which time the sauce will have lost its color.

While that is cooking, drain one block of tofu and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Juice one lime and have 6-8 thai basil leaves standing by.

After the 15 minutes are up, add the tofu and basil leaves, then simmer until the tofu is heated through (about 5 minutes). Stir in the lime juice. Taste for salt. Just before serving, stir in the remaining curry paste and garnish with basil sprigs.

Serve over rice. Enjoy the poppin' fresh goodness of all the yummy green things in this curry!

Deborah recommends a spicy, dry Gewurztraminer to go with this dish. I say drink whatever wine you have in your wine rack.

Approximate cost to prepare

Curry paste

3-4 large garlic cloves - $.50

1 heaping T. chopped ginger - $.50

3 stalks lemon grass - $.75

3-4 jalapeno peppers - $1.00

2 shallots - $.50

1/2 c. cilantro (including stems) - $.25

zest and juice of 1 lime - $.50

salt, pepper, cumin, coriander - negligible

The rest of the stuff

2 small oblong eggplants - $2.00

8 dried shiitake mushrooms ($5.00 or so. I only paid $1.32 for fresh ones)

1 small butternut squash (came from my garden, but I'm guessing $2.00)

1 can coconut milk $1.30

1 block firm tofu - $1.50

6 thai basil leaves - $.25

another lime - $.50

olive or peanut oil - negligible

1 cup rice - $.50

TOTAL - $13.15 for 6 servings or so. You don't really need a side dish with this meal. It freezes well.

Fragrant Red Lentils with broccoli romanesco

This dish is indeed fragrant, thanks to the coconut milk and spices, but it is also highly flavorful. It contains ginger, jalapeno chiles, turmeric (a spice from the ginger family), cilantro, and a smidgen of cayenne, making it pleasantly spicy which works nicely with the rice. It tastes a little bit Indian. It also contains broccoli romanesco (aka Roman cau

liflower) which is a gorgeous vegetable with its beautiful fractal pattern, high in fiber, and very delicious.

This is one of those fabulous one-dish meals that looks beautiful on the plate, fills you up, is comforting and exotic at the same time, and is very good for you. It is high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. The dish is served with a mound of basmati rice in the middle, surrounded by the lentils, with broccoli romanesco tucked in to the lentils, little dollops of yogurt, and cilantro garnish. It only takes about 40 minutes to prepare. The only down side of this dish is that it took 5 (count them, 5!) pans to prepare - one for the rice, one for steaming the veggies, one for the lentil mixture, one for spicing up the veggies, and a little one for a finishing touch of mustard seeds browned in butter.

Have you ever seen a red lentil? Before they are cooked, they are a bright orangish-pinkish color, so it surprised me a bit when this dish turned out yellow. The color of the lentils mellows with cooking, and the turmeric colors the dish. Since the broccoli romanesco is already pale green to begin with, and then it pales a bit more when it is steamed, there wasn't quite enough color contrast between the lentils and the vegetables, but it was still beautiful. More importantly, it was delicious.

Let's get started

First, start some basmati rice. Rinse one cup of rice in several changes of water. Put it in 2 cups water with a little salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover, and cook for 16 minutes. Turn off heat and fluff with a fork.

Finely chop 1 small onion, 1 T. fresh ginger, 1 large jalapeno pepper (remove seeds and veins), and 1/3 cup cilantro. Separate 1/3 of the ginger and 1/3 of the cilantro set aside for later. Also choose some pretty cilantro sprigs to use as garnish. Rinse 2 cups of red lentils. Have turmeric, cayenne, a bay leaf, mustard seeds, and 1 can coconut milk standing by.

Melt 2 T. butter in a 3 qt. saucepan. Add the onion, 2/3 of the ginger (the larger pile), and the jalapeno, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the lentils, 1 t. turmeric, 1/8 t. cayenne, 3 cups water, 1 bay leaf, and 1 t. salt to the pan. Stir. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Stir in the can of coconut milk and simmer for a few more minutes. Taste for salt and remove from heat. Stir in 2/3 of the cilantro (about 1/4 cup).

While the lentils are cooking, cut one head of broccoli romanesco into bite sized pieces. Steam until tender but still firm when poked with a knife. Melt 2 t. butter and add the remaining ginger, 1/2 t. turmeric, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. Cook over low heat for a minute, then add the broccoli romanesco and 1/3 cup of the cooking water. Raise the heat, add the rest of the cilantro and season with salt. Swirl everything around the pan and cook until the water has evaporated.

To finish, melt 2 t. butter in a small skillet over high heat. Add 1 t. mustard seed and cook about one minute. Stir this into the lentils.

Warm up the lentils if they have gotten cold. To serve, pack the rice into ramekins and turn them upside down on each plate. Spoon lentils around them. Add a few dollops of yogurt, the broccoli romanesco, and the cilantro garnish. Remove the ramekins, leaving the rice intact. If you want to serve this all in one dish and let people serve themselves, pack the rice into a small bowl instead of ramekins, and arrange as above in a large pasta bowl or platter.

Things I'd Do Differently Next Time

I might try serving this in one big dish, depending on how many people are eating. I might also try broccoli for its dark green color in contrast to the yellow of the lentil dish. I would buy my coconut milk at an Asian market instead of the supermarket, where it is about half the cost.

We are freezing the leftovers for later. I'm curious to see how they turn out when thawed.

Cost to prepare

3+ T. butter - $.30

1 small onion - $.40

1 T. ginger - $.20

1 large jalapeno - $.50

2 c. split red lentils - $2.00

spices - negligible

1 can coconut milk - $2.00

1/3 c. cilantro - $.25

1 head broccoli romanesco - $2.00 (I'm guessing - mine came from the farm)

If you can't find broccoli romanesco, you can use cauliflower or broccoli. The dark green of the broccoli would look nice.

1/4 c. yogurt - $.25

TOTAL - About $8.00 for 4 people

Spicy Tofu with Thai Basil and Coconut Rice Cakes

I made this for an Easter potluck and everyone seemed to enjoy it. This dish is a little difficult to take for a potluck, since it needs to be served shortly after cooking, but it was ok lukewarm, too. The colors in this dish are gorgeous. the yellow rice, the slightly purple hues of the thai basil, the lime quarters and red peppers served alongside make this dish really attractive. This would be great for company.

I probably should have waited until Thai basil was really in season, but I was able to find some at the Asian market. The coconut rice cakes are really tasty and could be used as the base for a variety of stir fries. They are also a really gorgeous yellow color due to the saffron and turmeric. The warmth of the basil and the tang of the lime works really well together.

This dish takes some planning ahead because the rice needs to be refrigerated before you fry it. This is the same rice that is used in Black Beans and Yellow Rice, so it might be good to make extra when you make that recipe and use the leftover rice for this recipe. If you don't have time to make the rice in advance and fry it into little cakes, you can just serve the sauce over the warm coconut rice.

You start with the coconut rice: Bring 2 cups water, 1/2 can coconut milk, a couple pinches of saffron and 1/2 t. of turmeric to a boil. Add 1 1/2 cups rinsed basmati rice. Turn down the heat to very low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork when finished. Stir in 4 thinly sliced scallions, season with salt and pepper, and put the rice in a 9x12 pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the top, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

When the rice is well chilled, cut it into diamonds or other shapes, and fry in a little peanut oil. Set fried cakes aside.

Cut up one carton of tofu into bite-sized triangles or diamonds. Fry it in a little peanut oil on both sides until golden. Season with salt, pepper, and the juice of 1/2 lime. Slide the tofu onto a plate and reheat the skillet with more oil.

While the tofu is cooking, stir together 1 t. brown sugar and 2 T. soy sauce until the sugar is dissolved. Chop 2 garlic cloves, thinly slice 3 large shallots, and chop 1 jalapeno chile. (Take out the seeds and veins if you want to limit the heat.)

When the oil is hot, stir fry the garlic, shallots, and jalapeno for 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce mixture, the rest of the coconut milk (1/2 a can), and 1/2 t. turmeric. Squeeze the other half of the lime over all and put the tofu back in the pan. When everything is warmed through, turn off the heat, taste for salt and add more salt or soy sauce as desired. Season with pepper. Stir in a handful of torn Thai basil leaves and a handful of torn mint leaves.

Arrange the coconut cakes on a platter or on individual plates. Add the tofu and sauce over the top and garnish with thai basil, especially the flowers. Serve with additional jalapeno and lime quarters.

Things I'd do differently next time: Rather than cutting the rice into squares to fry, I would shape it into ovals and refrigerate it that way. Also, the tofu wasn't very spicy, so I think I'll leave some of the seeds in the jalapeno next time.

Approximate cost to prepare:
1 1/2 cups basmati rice - $2.00 (or less)
1 can coconut milk - $1.25 (Ranges from $.89 - $1.99 at the Asian market, but more in specialty stores)
saffron - $2.00 (the little container of saffron cost 5 dollars. 2 pinches was about 1/3 of it.)
1 t. turmeric - $.20
4 scallions - $.15
1/3 cup sesame seeds - $3.00
peanut oil for frying - $.25
1 t. brown sugar, garlic - negligible
2 T. soy sauce - $.20
1 carton tofu - $1.20
2 limes - $.65
3 large shallots - $1.25
1 jalapeno chile - $.20
thai basil (half a bunch) - $1.00
handful of mint - growing in my back yard
1 red jalapeno or thai pepper, optional, or red pepper flakes - $.20
TOTAL - Approx. $12.35 for 4 servings. I had a lot of this stuff in my pantry.

I think this dish would cost about $18 per serving at a restaurant.

Red Sweet Potato Curry

While completely delicious, I made this a little too spicy. The recipe called for thai red curry and I just used the thai curry paste I happened to have in my refrigerator that was given to me by my friend Carla. I think it might be green curry. The combination of sweet potatoes, coconut milk, tofu, bok choy, and sweet scallions was fantastic. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, either - only about 45 minutes. I think this would make a nice dish to introduce people to tofu. There is so much flavor that they won't really focus on the fact that they are eating tofu.

Here's what you do:

Start some rice - 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of salted water.

Cut up one pound of sweet potatoes into bite sized pieces. The recipe didn't say to peel the sweet potatoes, so I took a chance and left the skins on. It worked out beautifully. If they're anything like regular potatoes, we probably got more vitamins by leaving the skins on. Steam the sweet potatoes over boiling water. This was supposed to take 20 minutes, but I think it was more like 15 minutes.

Heat one can coconut milk with one cup of water. Add 1-2 teaspoons red thai curry. I didn't measure very well. Next time I'll be more conservative. Chop 1/2 cup cilantro and add to coconut milk. When the sweet potatoes are done, add them to the coconut mixture. I kept this over very low heat.

Heat a little oil (recipe called for peanut oil, I used olive oil) and fry cubed tofu until the water is all cooked out of it and it becomes golden. Salt it and add soy sauce (mushroom soy sauce preferred, but I used regular soy sauce). Let all the tofu get glazed by the soy sauce and then dump it into the coconut milk mixture.

Slice 6 shallots into rounds. Saute them until sweet and golden. Meanwhile, simmer baby bok choy in salted water, just a few minutes.

Serve sweet potato curry over rice. Garnish with shallots, bok choy, cilantro and lime wedges. This is so delicious.

This meal doesn't need anything else with it. The recommended wine is a Pinot Gris from Alsace, but we didn't try that since we have given up alcohol for lent. I'll try it next time I make this dish.

Things I'd do differently next time: MEASURE the curry paste. Use only 1 or 1.5 teaspoons. Taste for salt before serving. (Duh. When am I going to learn this?)

Approximate cost to prepare:
1 cup rice - $.50 (?)
1 pound sweet potatoes - $1.00
1 can coconut milk - $1.80
2 tsp. curry paste - negligible
cilantro (1/2 bunch?) - $.25
1 carton tofu - $1.25
6 shallots - $1.50
4 baby bok choy - $2.25
1 lime - $.25
oil, salt, soy sauce - negligible
TOTAL - $8.80 for 4+ servings

By the way, this recipe checks 2 recipes off my list. I made basmati rice, which is in the basics section.