Red Curry Pasta with Butternut Squash, Ground Pork and Roasted Garbanzos

I've been on a ground pork kick the last couple of weeks after experimenting with substituting half of the ground beef with ground pork in my current go-to chili, Smoky Beef-and-Bacon Chili. The result? Moist and flavorful with a much better mouth-feel.

With that in mind, I planned to make another favorite, Red Curry Sloppy Joes, by substituting the ground beef with ground pork. But on a whim I decided to turn the whole idea into a pasta recipe that also utilized a delicata squash that I'd been holding onto along with a go-to appetizer, Pimenton Roasted Garbanzos.

And after my co-worker was enviously commenting on my leftovers right after he'd finished his own, I figured it was definitely one to share.



Red Curry Pasta with Delicata Squash, Ground Pork and Roasted Garbanzos
Pimenton Roasted Garbanzos
1 can coconut milk
2 T. red curry paste
1-2 T. fish sauce
1-2 T. sugar
1 T. lemon or lime juice
1 small delicata or butternut squash, cut in bite-sized pieces
8 oz. penne or other bite-sized pasta
1 T. coconut oil
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
1/4 chopped fresh basil, divided

Prepare Pimenton Roasted Garbanzos, then lower oven heat to 350 degrees.

Mix coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and lemon juice in a blender. Combine about 1/2 cup of curry mixture with butternut squash, then roast on a sheet pan until cooked through, about 10-20 minutes depending on size of chunks.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

Preheat a large saute pan over medium high heat; add coconut oil, then crumble in ground pork and stir until cooked through. Pour remaining curry mixture into sausage and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Once pasta and squash are finished, stir in with sausage and add half of green onions and basil. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with about 1 cup garbanzos and remaining green onions and basil.

Bring on the Vitamin D - An Excuse to Indulge in Mushrooms

Like many residents of the Pacific Northwest, my vitamin D levels tend to skew on the low side. It's just hard at this latitude to get enough vitamin D from the sun since we can only really process it from March to October.

Food isn't the best alternative source, but it's something. And it certainly helps that some of the foods that are high(ish) in vitamin D are also among my favorites: fatty fish, mushrooms, eggs (don't skip the yolk!!!) and beans, yum!

Maybe that's why when the days start shortening, I just can't get enough mushrooms. It doesn't matter what kind, I just want them in my belly. Since it's not quite mushroom season yet, I've been going crazy with the commercially grown portabellas and creminis.

Mushroom-Veggie Curry Pasta
1 cup mushroom (or any other) broth
2 tablespoons lime juice
*4 dates
1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup basil leaves
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
8 ounces bite-size pasta such as penne
2 tablespoons coconut oil, more if needed
4 cloves garlic, minced, separated
**2 portabella mushrooms, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
**8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 bunch lacinato (or any other) kale, stems removed and thinly sliced
1 cup soy edamame, defrosted

Make sauce by blending broth, lime juice, dates, ginger, curry, red pepper flakes and basil until smooth. Stir in sesame seeds and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add coconut oil, and stir in 2 cloves minced garlic for about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and stir periodically until mushrooms lose their water and start to brown. Remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add more oil if needed, then add onion and pepper to the skillet and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add remaining 2 cloves minced garlic near the end, then add kale and stir-fry until kale is wilted.

Stir in mushrooms, pasta, edamame and sauce, and serve.

*The original recipe called for 2 Medjool dates, which I would have done if I had them. It's nice to know the cheaper dates work just as well if you double the amount!

**This recipe would taste great with any combination of mushrooms, just be sure to use a lot!

— This recipe was adapted from Portabella Mushrooms and Noodles.

Curry Potatoes overwhelm Mom's 'potluck'

After we got back from Idaho, we celebrated a belated Christmas with the other fam that ended up being a potluck because Mom was so tired from the holidays. She made homemade potstickers, I brought tamales from Garza Mexican Foods and Stephen brought a salad, and Mom was so pleased with the meal that she wanted to make the potluck a new family tradition.

So this week I was asked to bring a curry to go with her Barbecue Steak (yes, I'm aware curry doesn't really go with tri-tip, but I do what I'm told!), but now that the holidays are over and Mom's back in the kitchen, my contribution ended up being about the second or possibly even third dish too many. Maybe we'll just stick with the potluck theme around the holidays, but honestly, none of us were complaining:

Curry Potatoes with Chicken
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in bite-sized chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. salt
Dash freshly ground pepper
1-2 T. canola oil
Half a yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut in bite-sized chunks
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can coconut milk
2-3 T. curry powder
Salt to taste

Gently mix chicken breast chunks, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper, then let marinate for about 2 hours.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1 T. oil, then saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl. Add more oil if needed, then cook chicken until no more pink is remaining, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in potatoes, carrots, reserved onions, coconut milk, curry and salt, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on low until done, about 30-45 minutes. Serve with rice.

Halibut with Thai curry passes the test

Mom's the kind of person you simply avoid cooking for. Everything's too greasy, too creamy, too cheesy, etc. But there are a few dishes that actually pass the Mom test, and very few of them are easy to make.

However, I can share one dish that is relatively simple, and it also happens to be one of the first that made me actually feel like a success in the kitchen. It might have still been too creamy for her taste, but it had to have been good enough, or everyone at the table would have known.

I first found the recipe in Bon Appetit back in October 2004 in the "Readers' Favorite Restaurant Recipes" section. I looked up the restaurant, Eartha's in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., but its Web site is down and there's very little new info. Guess I'll just assume the worst in this economy. But thank you, Eartha, for this delicious dish! Anyhoo, I seem to be unable to now locate the recipe on Epicurious, so I guess I'll just have to type out my cellophane-covered recipe (how geeky but yet intelligent is that?).

A few notes about the recipe. I am now channeling Mom when I say, "4 tablespoons of butter?!" One or two tablespoons are more than enough, really. I mean, who ever heard of bok choy and butter anyway (it's actually quite tasty, which I can admit since Mom doesn't read my blog because she can't stand to look at "the box")? And also, I had a hard time finding yellow curry paste until I found a huge tub of it at Uwajimaya. So let me know if you'd like to borrow some! Oh yeah, and as you may have noticed from the picture, I forgot the green onion tops. I always forget the garnish! And lastly, if you're looking for nice halibut but don't want to pay Whole Food prices, I got my cut at Costco and it was quite perfect.

And here's what you've been waiting for:

Roasted Halibut With Shitake and Bok Choy in Thai Curry Sauce
1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 c. low-salt chicken broth
1 T. yellow curry paste
1 T. curry powder
1 T. (or more) fresh lemon juice (optional)
2 T. vegetable oil
4 6- to 8-ounce halibut fillets (about 1-inch thick)
4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1-1/2 pounds shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 pound baby bok choy, leaves separated from core
1 cup chopped green onion tops

Preheat oven to 450 F. Bring coconut milk, chicken broth, curry paste and curry powder to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon, whisking occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice to taste.

Heat vegetable oil in heavy large nonstick ovenproof skillet over high heat. Sprinkle halibut with salt and pepper. Add fish to skillet and sear until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn fish over and place skillet in oven. Roast fish until just opaque in center, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add bok choy; saute until leaves begin to wilt and stems soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Season vegetable mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon 1 tablespoon curry sauce onto each of 4 plates. Top with vegetable mixture, then fish. Spoon remaining sauce over fish, sprinkle with green onions and serve.