Seasonal swap: Hearty winter produce stars in this Thai duo
As a proponent of eating local, I like to take favorite recipes and make seasonal swaps. I recently gave a cooking demonstration at Geneva Public Library where I did just that, incorporating winter squash, hearty greens, canned beans, and root vegetables into a pair of delicious Thai dishes.
Both the coconut curry and the chopped salad can flex to accommodate a wide range of different vegetables. Take the recipes as more of a guide than a rigid directive and feel free to experiment.
If you can get to an Asian grocery store, you’ll be able to find Thai basil and fresh lemongrass. You will also find a larger selection of ingredients like fish sauce, curry paste, and coconut milk. The proprietors are usually pleased to help, especially when you tell them what you plan to cook. They will guide you to the right shelves and point out the best quality. Larger supermarkets will carry most of these things, but you will need to make some substitutions.
Regular basil can fill in for Thai basil and lemon zest for lemongrass, for example. The result will lack some complexity, but will still have that medley of salty, spicy, sour, creamy, sweet, and umami that makes Thai food so spectacular.
If you plan on making both of these recipes for the same meal, prep common ingredients at the same time. For instance, zest and juice the citrus, grate the ginger, and mince the garlic in one go rather than returning to do the same job later for the second dish. And if you have a food processor with a shredding blade, now is the time to dig it out of storage. It will save you the tedious and time-consuming work of grating carrots and slicing cabbage. Plus, it’s not just kids who get a kick out of watching a whole carrot seemingly disappear instantly.
Many attendees at the cooking demo were pleasantly surprised by how much they liked the salad. The dressing is a revelation and comes together quickly. You don’t have to do as much ingredient prep; the blender will do that work for you.
Ginger and chili provide warmth, but you can adjust the heat by using more or less of the Thai chili paste in the curry. It’s tempered by the coconut milk, the mildness of the squash, and the fluffy jasmine rice served alongside. There’s no need to be overly cautious, as that paste adds a lot of flavor, too. I made this with kids, notoriously resistant to anything spicy, and we went with 3 tablespoons. They cleaned their bowls and asked to take the recipe home.
These recipes are naturally gluten- and dairy-free, if you use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce. And they can be vegan if you sub soy or tamari sauce for the fish sauce.
• Leslie Meredith is the winner of the 2019 Cook of the Week Challenge and the founder of Farmhouse School. She is available to give cooking demonstrations for libraries, schools and organizations. Reach her at Leslie.FarmhouseSchool@gmail.com.
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Thai Coconut Curry with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas
1 1/2 tablespoons neutral oil (like grapeseed or avocado)
1 large onion or 2 medium shallots, chopped
2 to 5 tablespoons red curry paste
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
2 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
14 ounce can full-fat coconut milk (not coconut cream)
3/4 cup to 1 cup vegetable stock
3 to 5 cups butternut squash, diced (approximately 2 to 2.5 pounds)
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons coconut palm or raw cane sugar
1 or 2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed
4 cups fresh baby spinach
Zest and juice from 1 lime, divided
Large handful Thai basil leaves, torn
To garnish: Roasted cashews, chopped cilantro, and lime zest*
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large, sturdy pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions/shallots and cook until soft and golden, about 6 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent them from burning. Add curry paste, and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring continuously. Add a little bit of the coconut milk. Stir and let it bubble a bit, then add squash and toss to coat.
Stir in the broth and deglaze pot as needed. Add remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until squash is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Stir in the chickpeas and spinach. Remove from heat once the spinach wilts and stir in the lime juice and torn basil leaves. Taste and adjust with fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar as needed. Serve over jasmine rice with lime zest, chopped cashews, and cilantro sprinkled on top.
Serves 6.
* Note: If you can find Thai lime and chili flavored cashews, they are fantastic as a garnish.
— Leslie Meredith
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Thai Chopped Salad
For the salad:
6 cups greens, sliced (your choice of chard, spinach, baby kale, cabbage)
3 large carrots, shredded
2 red/yellow/orange bell peppers, very thinly sliced
2 cups shelled edamame (in the freezer section)
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (leaves and stems)
1/4 cup green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
3/4 cup roasted cashews, roughly chopped
For the dressing:
Zest and juice from 1 lime
1 stalk lemongrass (woody parts trimmed/peeled)
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
Cook edamame and allow to cool. Pulse a few times in a food processor to roughly chop. Prepare other vegetables and toss together with the edamame in a large serving bowl. Stir in half of the cashews.
Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Thin with water as needed.
Add enough dressing to coat the salad (you may not need it all.) Toss to combine and top with remaining cashews.
Serves 6.
— Leslie Meredith