Friday, January 9, 2015

Cauliflower Curry with Red Quinoa and Crispy Tempeh


I know I just posted a curry recipe in my last post but if you read it, you'll understand my winter love affair with curry spices and it's cousins. It's warm, stimulating and linear with my dosha, vata. My palate goes through chapters and phases like other areas of my life, and I don't really crave curry any other time of the year. I can eat at the Thai restaurant whenever but I am seasonally drawn to make at home when I run colder than usual and I physically need those warming, herbal blends. One of my favorite memories is with my sister Amanda. She loves Thai food too and we would always dine together when she would visit from California. She's an Okie transplant and one very talented quilter - visit her site LOFIGIRL to see all of her amazing work! So this recipe is an adaptation from the hippie famous Moosewood Cookbook which I've had since I was 19. It's my favorite, worn - in recipe guide for vegetarian dishes. Seriously though, ANYONE can make this dish. It isn't complicated or fussy. You need a blender for the curry paste but if you don't have one, you can make it in a bowl. Simple ingredients that are super good for you. It's affordable to recreate, not cheap. These things are easy to find and you can make a million other delicious variations with them!

This recipe serves 4. Double the vegetables if you want to serve more. The paste recipe makes extra anyway and it can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for later use, like sautes, dressings, salads or bakes.

INGREDIENTS
1|2 head organic cauliflower, separated into smallish florets
2 carrots, peeled and medium diced
1|2 yellow or white onion
2 - 3 cloves garlic
1|4 jalapeno or a pinch of coarse red flakes
1 - 2 potatoes ( sweet or yukon gold ) par boiled and set aside
3 cremini mushrooms 
handful of kale, chopped or chiffonade 
parsley and | or cilantro
plain, greek yogurt
toasted cashews 
pan fried tempeh or tofu or add chickpeas to the end of your saute
1|2 cup red quinoa or brown rice or millet, cooked

CURRY PASTE
1|2 cup plain, unsweetened shredded coconut
1|4 cup raw cashews, dry toasted
1 T raw sesame seeds, dry toasted
1 T whole mustard seed or mustard seed powder
1|2 t cumin
cayenne to taste 
2 cloves chopped garlic 
1 T fresh ginger, peeled and minced
big pinch allspice or cloves
1|4 c raw nuts - preferably cashews, but peanuts will work
1|2 cup filtered water as needed to make a good paste
*put everything in the blender, adding the water gradually, using just enough to make a paste and get everything moving. Store the leftover paste in a glass jar in the refrigerator. 

DIRECTIONS
Start cooking your grain in a medium saucepan, whether that's quinoa or brown rice or millet. Start your saute with the onions and carrots in a little olive oil until tender, about 10 minutes. Warm some olive oil in another pan. Cut your tempeh or tofu into rectangles and fry for 7 minutes on one side, then turn. Don't stir! On the second side, hit it with some Braggs or coconut aminos or tamari or soy sauce. It will season your tempeh or tofu and deglaze the pan, making it easier to turn. Add the cauliflower and mushrooms to the onions and carrots and cover. Add a splash of water if you're seeing brown on the bottom of the pan. That's deglazing. It's the good stuff - it's called 'fond' and you want to pull it up off the bottom to season your saute. Water or stock will 'deglaze' the pan and bring it from the surface for you. After about 10 minutes, stir in 2 tablespoons of the paste and a little water. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. Take off the lid and turn off the heat. Stir in the kale and parsley.  

Serve by putting a small, mounded spoonful of quinoa onto the plate. Press down gently in the middle. Place the curry inside the well and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro if you like it ( which you should learn to if you don't! ) and greek yogurt and toasted cashews, peanuts or pine nuts.

ENJOY!!

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