The onset of spring makes me crave green vegetables in all forms: raw, barely cooked, puréed into soups and sauces, spun with oil, nuts and garlic into a pesto.
Testing out dishes for the spring menu change at Argyll, I hit upon the idea of a green curry. Traditional Thai or Indian green curries are actually not that green: they are made with an herb and chile purée which is cooked into a curry base until it more of a khaki color. I first tried to make one with a purée of cilantro, mint, jalapeños and ginger, which I folded into a curry base. The result was brilliant green but had a harsh raw aftertaste to it.
So instead I decided to make the curry with Thai yellow curry paste, coconut milk and tamarind, in which a large quantity of crunchy, vivid green vegetables are folded into at the last minute.
The result is healthy, nourishing, bright-tasting and vegan. Note: Yellow curry paste, tamarind paste and flowering Chinese broccoli can be found at any Asian supermarket.
Green Vegetable Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons sliced garlic
1½ tablespoons yellow curry paste
2 cups diced carrots, blanched 1 minute
2 cups diced potatoes, blanched 3 minutes
Kosher salt
1½ tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups water
1½ tablespoons tamarind paste
1 can coconut milk
1 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)
1 cup Chinese broccoli florets, blanched 10 seconds
1 cup snow peas
1 cup baby bok choy leaves
Directions
Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the canola oil, stir in the yellow onions and cook until golden and tender, about 12 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook until softened but not colored, about 2 minutes. Add the curry paste, carrots and potatoes and fry about 2 minutes.
Stir in a pinch of salt, the brown sugar, water, tamarind paste, coconut milk, and chickpeas and cook until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. (The recipe can be made to this point up to a day in advance.)
Fold in the Chinese broccoli, snow peas and bok choy and cook until slightly wilted, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.
