Curried Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

I almost always crave apples and sweet potatoes in the fall.  Okay, always.  And I love curry, and I love using my mandoline, so I can't wait to try this one out!

Curried Sweet Potato-Apple Soup
3 medium sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups chunky applesauce
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and dice 2 1/2 sweet potatoes. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger, nutmeg, 1 1/4 teaspoons curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until toasted, 1 more minute.

Add the diced sweet potatoes, chicken broth and 2 cups water to the pot, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in the applesauce. Simmer, covered, until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Puree the soup with a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper; keep warm.

Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice the remaining 1/2 sweet potato and toss with the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until crisp, 7 to 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon curry powder and cook, stirring, until browned; remove from the heat and add the vinegar. Top with the curry butter, cilantro and sweet-potato chips.

Shrimp - somehow. . . someway. . .

Why do I always forget to take a photo of the food? Instead, here is one of a peach/vanilla/jalapeno cocktail I also made last night, while trying to recreate a delicious cocktail from El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma.

I was at Whole Paycheck last night picking up a couple of things for $50 (GAH, WHY DO I SHOP THERE?!), and I saw some shrimp that looked good and were on special. Unfortunately I can't ever remember which fish I'm supposed to buy and which I'm supposed to avoid and it was packed and I panicked and didn't check my iPhone app and the next thing you know I had a pound of farmed shrimp, but I don't know if they're the RIGHT kind of farmed shrimp. Whoops.
Since citrus is a no go, there goes my delicious margarita shrimp - what else would be nice? Curry and coconut milk came to mind, so I started searching. I found a couple of good options, but found another that was very different but also sounded amazing.
Now that I'm understanding flavor profiles I'm hoping I can combine these recipes to figure out something good - gingery, coconut, curry-y, but non citrusy. . . . maybe using mango to help with that tropical flavor?

Curry Coconut Shrimp
1 lb cleaned shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/2 can light coconut milk
1 c onion
2 cloves of garlic (smashed, minced, crushed)
1 tbsp ginger (minced, grated)
1 red chile finely chopped
1 pinch of red pepper flakes (this step depends on how spicy your chile is)
cilantro
1/2 - 1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
salt & pepper
mango or honey (optional)

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large saute pan over med-hi and add onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes until soft, then add the garlic, ginger, chile and spices. Cook until fragrant. Add the shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes on each side, turning once, until opaque. Add the coconut milk and allow to simmer and thicken.
You could also bbq or grill the shrimp and then add them into the sauce and let it simmer for a couple of minutes for the flavors to meld.

While not entirely South Beach Phase I, I served this on top of some brown rice and it was heaven, though it could've used more spice - we had to add a bit of Sriracha. I also diced 1/2 of a mango and put it over the top for a little bit of sweetness. If you don't do mango, you might just add a tbsp of honey to the dish before you serve it.
It made three good servings - 2 for dinner and one for lunch; yum.

Craving Curry

If there is one thing I love about SB it's the variety the diet affords. I've been craving Indian food lately, and so I whipped up a tasty SB curry last night, with some lentils - which were AMAZING, and totally made the dish.
I'm all about the lentils right now it seems.
(cook's note: recommended appetizer)

Indian Chicken
1 1/2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken, cut into 1" pieces
1 tbsp canola oil
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 (2 lb) head of cauliflower, cut into florets (4 cups)
1 can light coconut milk
1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper

Season chicken well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over med-hi and cook chicken til lightly browned. Remove chicken to a plate using a slotted spoon.
Reduce heat to medium-low and add onion, garlic, curry & ginger. Cook about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower, coconut milk and broth; cover and simmer - stirring occasionally until veggies are crisp-tender (about 5 min). Add chicken back to pan, and let cook uncovered to thicken sauce - about 5 minutes.

Indian Spiced Lentils
4 tsps evoo
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 c dried lentils, picked over and rinsed (I used the already cooked beluga lentils from TJ's)
1 1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (which I totally did not know went into this recipe until right now - which means you can skip it and it'll still be good)
salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion and sautee about 3 minutes til soft. Add garlic and sautee another minute. Stir in curry powder and lentils. Add broth, bring to a simmer, cover and cook til tender about 20 minutes (or less if you got the already cooked kind!). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fight over spoonfulls to eat with your chicken and cauliflower curry.

Curried Zucchini Soup

Another South Beach hit - great for summer as it's fresh and delicious, but good for fall too since it's warm and cozy. This was the second course for the squash blossom dinner, and while I really should've thought about how I was going to serve it in advance, it worked out okay.

Curried Zucchini Soup
2 tsp Extra Virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 medium zukes, sliced into 1/4" half moons
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (which I did not have so I used a dash of Allspice + cumin + chili powder; other folks have actual substitution recipes if you'd prefer)
3 cups veggie broth (low sodium)
1/2 c plain fat free yogurt

garnish:
3 tbsp lowfat/ff sour cream mixed with 1 tbsp ff half and half to thin it out (or creme fraiche if you prefer)
Ginger - using a garlic press, smoosh up your ginger to taste and mix in - I probably used a 1 inch piece of ginger, but I think a little more would've been good

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 min. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add zucchini, ginger, curry powder, and garam masala. Cook 3 more min.

Add broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until vegetable are tender, about 10 min. Puree soup until smooth. Whisk in yogurt just before serving.

Garnish soup with ginger creme fraiche, either a nice little dollop on top, or a swirl if you're feeling fabulous.

Asiany shrimps and stuff

I have been daydreaming about shrimp ever since I had these yummy chili garlic prawns at Fog Harbor Fish House down at the wharf. It made me think of how much I loved the red curry mussels at Fog City Diner that I was lucky enough to share with four of my favorite people. Fair enough, I didn't love the mussels but I loved the broth they came in. I'd happily put that with shrimp. Or chicken. Or beef. Or pork. Or cardboard. With lots and lots of fresh crusty sourdough.
What is with me and seafood at Fog named restaurants?

Chili Garlic Prawns
1 kg fresh large prawns
1 small onion, 10 garlic cloves, 1 inch piece of ginger - pureed in a blender
1 tsp red chilli paste or green chilli paste or red chilli powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c oil

Shell, devein, clean and butterfly the prawns with tails left on.

Mix the remaining ingredients together and marinate the prawns in this mixture, covered in the fridge, for 1-2 hours.

Grill till prawns are cooked, brushing with marinade and turning twice. Do not overcook the prawns as they will get tough. It is better to rather slightly undercook them.

This is not nearly as brothy/saucy as at Fog Harbor. I recommend setting some of the marinade aside to use to make sauce. Maybe cooked down with some broth/stock, oil, coconut milk perhaps. Yum.

Red Curry Mussel Stew

serves 6
4 dozen PEI mussels or any small black mussels (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp peeled & grated ginger
1/4 c peeled and diced tomato
1 tbsp Red Curry paste
4 c canned coconut milk
1 tbs chopped cilantro
6 sprigs cilantro for garnish
Tons of warm sourdough for sopping up the broth.

Scrub the mussels well and trim off the beards. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and saute the garlic, ginger, and tomato for 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and coconut milk, stirring until the paste dissolves. Add the mussels, cover, and steam until open, about 3-6 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open). Add the chopped cilantro; divide the mussels and broth between the bowls and garnish with sprigs of cilantro. Serve with sourdough.
Die in red curry mussel ecstasy.

OR do the same thing with prawns that you've quickly sauteed to cook them until JUST done, and then put them into the broth and allow to heat through.

Now I think I need to invite those four favorite people over and surprise them with this dish. Of course I'll use the light coconut milk, whatever that means, but I try.

Curried scallops

To go with my simple pan seared scallops, I wanted something Indian inspired, preferably featuring curry.
To that end, I pilfered this from one of Emeril's recipes:

1 tbsp unsalted butter
½ c finely chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
4 tsps curry powder
1 c chicken stock
½ c oj
1 c heavy cream

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and curry powder, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and orange juice, and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by 1/2, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cream and cook until thickened, about 1 minute.

Don’t make my mistake and use old spices – I forgot to grab mine from home and used some very old curry powder at Q’s house. The flavor was a mere ghost of how vibrant curry should be. Heartbreaking.
I think I’ll try to lighten this one up a little the next time I make it. Perhaps some I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter or heart healthy olive oil, and maybe I can get away with the fat free half and half from TJ’s. It’s just to add creaminess to the sauce, so I think it should be fine.