Sweet Potato and Tofu Curry

I was excited about my new cookbook 'Travels with Thai Food' (Brierty & Fear, 2007) that it didn't matter that it was 11pm. I was hungry, I had ingredients in my fridge and inspiration. I was bored? No no, inspired, yes.  Anyway, cooking at night's always a problem for my photo taking, but too bad, because there wasn't going to be any leftovers to foto the next day. This was going straight in mah belleh! Mmmmmmm..... Spic-ay!

The recipes in 'Travels with Thai Food' include customized curries for each curry recipe, though I've found very little variation in many of the pastes that are used for the base of the curries. The basic ingredients for many of these pastes are (in varying proportions): chillies, galangal (have yet to find out what this really is), ginger, lemongrass, lime zest, coriander, onion, garlic, white pepper, cumin, and depending on the other ingredients, something like nutmet, basil, tamarind, keffir lime and so on.

So since using a pestle and mortar to grind up a paste, of which you end up using only a few table spoons for each curry, I bought a pre-made red Panang Thai curry from the Asian market and tweek it with a few of my own spices later if necessary. This saves me a lot of time. I know with the right technique, using a pestle and mortar isn't so laborious, but to me, it often feels like it.

Here I'll list the Red Curry Paste ingredients for anyone interested, but I do admit I took a rather big, and recommendable shortcut:
10 dried chillies, deseeded and soaked in water until soft
salt
1 tbs chopped galangal
2 tbs chopped lemongrass
1 tsp lime zest
2 coriander roots scraped
2 tbs chopped onion
4 tbs chopped garlic
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Curry
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 tbs vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbs sugar (palm sugar if you have it)
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs finely diced ginger
half block of tofu, cubed (I dry mine out in a dry non stick skillet on low heat for 10 minutes before using)
basil
4 keffir lime leaves (I buy mine semi-dried and keep them in the fridge for weeks)
half red chilli, in slivers for garnish
1/4 cup cashews crushed for garnish

1.) Preheat the oven to 200C. Prepare the paste if you are making yourself.
2.) Toss the sweet potato in the salt pepper and olive oil and spread evenly on a lined baking sheet. Bake the sweet potato for abotu 45 minutes or until goldenbrown and soft.
3.) Combine the coconut milk and 3 tbs red paste in a hot skillet or wok and mix well. Add the sugar, soy sauce, ginger and tofu and begin to cook about 5 minutes.
4.) Bring the mixture to a boil and add the basil and lime leaves. Then add the sweet potato, toss and remove from heat.

5.) Serve garnished with the fresh chilli and cashews.

Sweet Potato Hash

This recipe is modified from Better Homes and Garden's April edition. My mom brought this along with her on her visit and reading it on the plane decided that we needed to make this together while she was in town. Well we never got around to it with all of our fun boat trips and sight seeing, but I did make time for it this past week for a dinner guest.

This dish was deliciously simple and colorful- which makes me feel like I'm getting a lot of nutrients. The health benefits of sweet potatoes are many, as for swelling, arthritis and so forth, and if the claim made by Samantha in Sex and the City 2 is correct, then they may also have a hormonal balancing effect as well that eases the symptoms of menopause, though I haven't come across any 'real' claims yet.

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup of frozen corn

1 green pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup black beans (pre-cooked, canned or soaked and boiled the night before)

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

avocado (optional)

spices: cilantro, chilli powder (optional)

1.) Briefly boil the sweet potato, maybe 5 minutes, until it's tender, but al dente. Drain.
2.) Heat oil in a skillet, add the potatoes and cook until starting to brown.
3.) Add other vegetables and beans to the skillet and continue cooking for several minutes, until peppers are soft.
4.) Stir together the sour cream and salsa. Serve the hash with the salsa mixture, fresh cilantro and sliced Avocado.

Sweet Potato Spinach Quiche

The reason I love quiche is obvious- it's so easy to make and hardly ever turns out badly. You can make a number of infinite combinations of ingredients in a quiche and have it turn out well. Just try it for yourself. The other reason to love quiche? The crust, I guess, if you make it the way I do, loaded with butter.

• 
  
  1 pie crust
• 
  
  2 tbs olive oil
• 
  
  1 red onion, sliced
• 
  
  1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced thinly
• 
  
  2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 
  
  4 eggs
• 
  
  1/2 cup cream
• 
  
  frozen spinach (I used about 90g)
• 
  
  spices (coriander, cilantro, mustard seed, parsely, salt and pepper)
• 
  
  grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle

1. 
   
   Preheat the oven to 175C. Set some salted water to boil and add the slices of sweet potato and allow to soften, approximately 10 minutes (depending on how thinly you sliced them). Drain
2. 
   
   Meanwhile, roll the pie crust out thinly and shape it to the quiche dish. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes.
3. 
   
   Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic, onion, and spices. Let the onion soften and the spices become fragrant.
4. 
   
   Add the spinach and stir until thawed and combined.
5. 
   
   While the spinach is cooking, in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, salt and pepper together.
6. 
   
   Layer half the slices of sweet potato in the pie crust, top with the spinach and onion mixture, and layer the remaining slices of sweet potato.
7. 
   
   Pour the egg mixture over everything. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of grated parmesan.
8. 
   
   Bake quiche for approximately 45 minutes or until set and golden brown.
9. 
   
   Allow to cool slightly  before slicing.

Also, this quiche is good eaten cold, if, like me, you don't have a microwave and have the midnight munchies!

Sweet Potato Gratin

Many recipes I've used many times come from my homeland of America. North America to be exact. Therefore, while they may be ethnically inspired, they are more or less, just, American.

Since the sweet potato, or the softer- yam- as it is known in America, is native to the Americas, this is not a stretch. It has long since spread throughout Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Africa. The sweet potato is considered a staple crop in many African countries, such as Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, since they grow heartily in temperate climates if rain is scarce.

Furthermore, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared sweet potatoes to all other vegetables and ruled that sweet potatoes were of the highest nutritional value, due to high amounts of fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins A & C, iron, protien and calcium. What could make you happier about grubbing up something delicious with these orangy spuds?!

I made the following recipe for my boyfriend, A, and his parents, who rather typically of their generation, have a difficult time thinking up whole meals that don't contain either fish or meat. I do believe they said 'ruokka oli hyvaa'. :)

Sweet Potato Gratin
(serves 4)

2 tsp oil
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
2 tbs sage or herbs de province
3 medium sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup shredded guyere, smoked mozzerella, or any smoky flavored cheese
grated parmesan
1 cup cream, warmed

1. Preheat oven to 190C, oil a gratin dish, and set a pot of water to boil
2. Add sweet potatoes to water with a pinch of salt. Depending on how thinly you were able to slice them, they should take only a few minutes to soften. Test softness with a fork.
3. Heat onion, garlic and herbs in a skillet until the herbs are fragrant and the onion translucent.
4. Add sweet potatoes to skillet and mix well.
5. Layer 1/3 sweet potato mixture, 1/3 cheeses, until all are used. Salt and pepper to taste as you go.
6. Pour cream evenly over all other ingredients.
7. Bake with foil cover for 25 minutes and without for another 25 minutes.

I used a less expensive smoked cheese than guyere, and herbs de province instead of sage.
This recipe was modified from Deborah Madison's 'Vegetarian Suppers'.

I served it with steamed broccoli on the side and another vegetable high in beta carotine, a curried carrot salad.

Curried Carrot Salad
(serves 4-6)

1 lb carrots, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup finely diced leek/green onion/onion
juice of 1 lemon, or 1/4 cup vinegar (good quality red wine vinegar or equal)
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
3tbs olive or safflower oil
1 tbs honey

Add all ingredients together and let marinate at least 20 minutes before serving.
Add optionally something sweet, like pineapple, shredded apples, raisins, or currants. Or use something bitter or sour, such as pickled capers for a burst of additional flavour. Sugar can be a substitute for the honey if that's all you have available.

This recipe can be modified to whatever you have in the kitchen, or or your preferences. I have also heard of people cutting thin slices of the carrot and quickly blanching them, cooling them before adding other ingredients.

This recipe was modified from Martha Rose Shulman's 'Fast Vegetarian Feats'.