panang curry soup

November 29, 2011 by 10 Comments

It was just sitting there, taunting me. “You can’t drink me, silly lady. I’m a sauce! Not a soup.” I don’t like to be told what to do. So I took one look at the remnants of the panang curry from our favorite thai place, told it to shut it’s stupid panang curry mouth, and drank it.

It was right. It was too rich to be drunk. But it’s flavors—oh, it’s flavors!—creamy coconut, salty chicken broth, spicy red curry; they were destined to be in sippable form. So I set out to make this classic thai dish into a soup that can be both eaten and slurped, both without judgment.

I began with the classic panang curry ingredients: carrots, scallions, lime, shallot, ginger, garlic, and mushroom. For body I added yam, two types of potato, and boneless, skinless chicken thighs to start the broth.

You’ll also need thai red curry paste (available in most grocery stores), chicken broth, and coconut milk. Not pictured but also needed: olive oil, butter, water and flour.

Begin by rinsing the chicken and patting it dry. Trim off any excess fat, check for stray bones, and then cut into 1″ pieces.

Brown the chicken in a bit of oil until no longer pink. It’s best to do this in a big pot so you can make the soup in it, too.

While the chicken is cooking, you can mince the garlic and shallot…

…peel and chop the carrot…

…and dice the potatoes (peel the yam first).

Remove the chicken from the pot, add a bit more oil, and brown the garlic and shallot.

Add the potatoes and carrot and cook until tender.

Meanwhile, chop the shallots…

…and quarter the mushrooms (I like to lop off the very end of the stems first, but it’s not completely necessary).

Remove the potatoes and carrots from the pot. Melt the butter and quickly stir in the flour to make a roux.

Whisk in the broth, coconut milk and red curry paste, scraping the bottom of the pan to release all of the browned bits.

Add the chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, and scallions. Zest and juice half of the lime into the soup.

Grate in the ginger (I like to use the microplane for this, but if you don’t have one, the thin side of a cheese grater works just fine). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it reaches the thickness you desire.

Serve with more chopped scallions and a slice of lime if desired, and a crusty bread, pita or naan on the side for dipping. Breathe it in. Savor. And slurp away.

Panang Curry Soup        printable recipe

Serve with a crusty bread, toasted pita or warmed naan for sopping up the fragrant, spicy broth.

Active time: 30 minutes Total time: 1 hour. 

Serves 8

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
  • 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1″ cubes
  • 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 small shallot
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 small yam
  • 1 large yukon gold potato
  • 1 large red potato
  • 1 small bunch scallions
  • 1/2 lb crimini or white mushrooms
  • 1 piece ginger root, roughly the size of your finger
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
  • 2 cans coconut milk (not light)
  • 2 tbsp red curry paste (more if your like more spice)
  • 1/2 c water
  • 1 lime
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan (preferably one you can create the whole pot of soup in) over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown the chicken with the salt until no longer pink, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot.
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2. Mince the garlic and shallot. Peel the carrots and cut into 1/2″ coins. Peel the yam and dice (I find a 3/4″ dice works well for soups) along with the potatoes.  Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot and add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add the shallot and saute for 1 minute more. Add the carrots, yam and potatoes; reduce heat to medium and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Remove from pot.
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3. While the vegetables are cooking, chop the scallions and quarter the mushrooms. Peel the ginger root. Set aside.
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4. In the same pot, melt the butter and quickly stir in the flour, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, coconut milk, red curry paste and water, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir to release the browned bits. Add the chicken, carrot and potato mixture, mushrooms, and scallions (reserving a few tablespoons of scallions for serving, if desired). Zest and juice half of the lime into the soup, reserving the other half of the lime for serving. Grate the ginger into the soup. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, curry paste or lime if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until soup reaches the thickness you desire. Taste once again for seasoning and serve.

 

 

 

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mexican lasagna

June 16, 2010 by 16 Comments

This dish began with a baby. Our dear friends were expecting a little “it” any day, and I went into a minor panic that I hadn’t made them anything to keep in their freezer. When they arrived home with that little bundle, I wanted them to be able to eat a home-cooked meal without actually doing the cooking part.

The only things I remember from the evening we brought our daughter home from the hospital are 1) how flippin cute she was, even as a newborn, and 2) the hamburger pie that my mother-in-law had left us in the fridge. When you are sleep deprived, have lived on hospital food and candy bars for days, and are stuck in the otherworldly universe of “new parent,” there is nothing better than finding dinner waiting for you.

But I didn’t want to cook something expected. It needed to be comforting but not blah, creative but not bizarre. I consulted a few similar recipes, but they were all lacking in one way or another. I ended up going off the map and making a creation of my own, without guidance or even a clue what I was doing.

The result was more delicious, more satisfying that I could have imagined. Between the layers of handmade tortilla, melted cheeses and fire-roasted tomatoes was something beyond bliss. This was comfort food of mammoth proportions.

Ordinary items from the grocery store, tortillas from Trader Joe’s, and a few things that I had on hand all came together in one star-crossed, meant-to-be meal. This is the most non-fancy dinner that I can think of, and yet I would prefer it to dining at the best new restaurant in town.

So what made it so magical? What transformed this pan of regular stuff into tiny square slices of crack-cocaine?

It was probably this little guy, spreading his little strawberry-blonde love all over town.

Welcome to the world, Beckett Flynn. You are dearly loved, even at four days old. And you have inspired a recipe that will be gracing the freezers of parents-to-be for years to come.

Mexican Lasagna

This dish freezes and reheats exceptionally well, which makes it perfect for double batches. Makes 1 9×13″ pan, or about 12 servings. If you prefer a bit more spice (I do), you can up the taco seasoning to 1 1/2-2 packets.

  • 1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
  • 1 (15 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles
  • 2 (14 ounce) cans refried beans
  • 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives
  • 8 large flour tortillas (preferably handmade—most better grocers will carry them)
  • 1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • sour cream for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F. In a large skillet, brown ground meat. Drain fat. Add tomatoes, taco seasoning and water. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, combine the refried beans, diced green chiles and black olives. Stir. Blend the two grated cheeses together in a separate bowl.

Coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the bean mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Cover with two of the flour tortillas. Spread with a third of the cheese mixture, then cover with half of the meat mixture. Cover with tortillas once again, then layer the remaining beans, two more tortillas, 1/3 of the cheese, the remaining meat mixture, the remaining tortillas, and the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through and bubbly. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. Top with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

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