Mango Curry With Shrimp

I’ve become mildly obsessed with eating Mango lately. So delicious! One night I very seriously thought we had no food in the house but a half a bag of frozen shrimp, the mango on the counter, and the remnants of an old frozen bag of soybeans yielded one of the best meals I have ever had. Mango curry is heavenly! We ate ours over some brown rice. We will be making this again, and again, and again….

Mango Curry with Shrimp

Olive oil
Onion - diced
Carrots – sliced or diced
2 Tblsp Massaman curry spice*
Vegetable stock (about ½ cup)**
Lite coconut milk (about 1 cup)
10 raw shrimp, cleaned, deveined, and cut lengthwise in half
Soybeans – about 1 cup (frozen is fine)
1 Ripe Mango – peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
Black pepper to taste


Sauté onion and carrots over medium heat until they are just barely softened in olive oil. Add the curry spike and sauté quickly until the rawness is cooked out of it; be careful you don’t burn it. Add the vegetable stock and stir until the pan is deglazed and the curry has blended well with the liquid. When the liquid has thickened add the coconut milk and stir until blended. Bring the heat up so the liquid is just simmering. Add the shrimp and soybeans and cook until the shrimp is just cooked through. Add the mango and pepper to taste. Cook until the mango is heated through.

Serve over rice.


* Cost Plus World Market has a Massaman Curry blend that does not contain garlic.
** Most vegetable broths contain garlic, however I have found that some vegetable stocks do not contain garlic.

Mushroom "Ragu" (and polenta / quinoa pasta)

Mike and I were talking about polenta the other day. I have this weird issue with polenta (also egg salad and deviled eggs truth be told). If I don’t make it myself I have a hard time eating it. It makes no sense, but the soft and sometimes creamy texture weirds me out. Unless I cook it myself I can’t choke it down. I found this great, gluten-free and dairy-free pre-made polenta at Cost Plus World Market last month and thought to myself that it would be great to have on hand instead of always having pasta with sauces, etc. I bought it, heated it up, and served it, but it didn’t really sit well with me mentally (although Mike enjoyed it). There is nothing wrong with the product at all. In fact if you don’t have this issue, and it is unlikely you do, then I recommend it. It is a decent product that is quick and easy from package to plate.

While Mike and I were discussing polenta we began to discuss ways to serve it. I tossed out that it would be good with some type of mushroom “ragu.”

The other day I was walking through the local Market (Zupan’s) wondering what to make for dinner. I happened to notice a display of dried mushrooms that proudly declared they were an Oregon product. The mushrooms triggered my memory of the idea of a mushroom “ragu” and since I am always up for supporting local businesses, and local food especially, I decided to give it a try.

Ragu is traditionally a meat sauce (hence the quotes around it when I speak in terms of it being mushroom-based). If you decide to try making it yourself keep in mind that the real keys to this sauce are the following:

• The broth from the reconstituted dried mushrooms are essential to this sauce tasting earthy and wonderful. Don’t skip this part.
• Brown the fresh mushrooms at the start of the recipe. Resist stirring them too much which will inhibit the browning process. Have patience and let them sit undisturbed until you get a good brown started, then stir and repeat until they are fully browned. This is really essential for not only producing non-rubbery mushrooms, but also for a complexity of flavor in the sauce.
• The right amount of fresh rosemary. You could use dried in a pinch, but the fresh just works a little different in the sauce – in a really good way. Rosemary can really take over a dish so be careful you don’t add too much (unless of course you are mad for it, then toss as much as you want in).

The dried mushrooms I chose to use were: Oregon Porcini dried mushrooms (.5 0z pack); and Chanterelle dried mushrooms (.5 0z pack). You could experiment here, but these are unique and earthy. I followed the directions on the package to reconstitute them in simmering water and then used only the broth in the recipe. You can rinse the reconstituted mushrooms well, then chop them up and add them to the sauce, but I find the texture of reconstituted mushrooms to be strange and unpleasant. The flavor has really been leeched out of them too so I don’t see any benefit other than alleviating some guilt at throwing food away. If you can’t handle the guilt by all means throw them in. I personally toss them out. Some words of caution if you use them: rinse them well before putting them in your sauce. Nothing ruins a meal more than gritty or sandy food, which will indeed happen if you don’t take the time to rinse them thoroughly.

To give a plug for the ones I used (they were wonderful), the brand is “MycoLogical” and I purchased their Wild Gourmet Mushrooms (again, I used the Oregon porcinis, and the chanterelles). It is a company based out of Eugene, Oregon.

Here is a link to their website: http://www.mycological.com/

And, finally, the recipe!

*** Mushroom “Ragu” ***

Olive oil
½ pound of chopped fresh mushrooms (buttons are fine) – medium dice
1 large fresh Portobello mushroom cap chopped to roughly the same size as the buttons
1 cup of finely minced celery (about 3 ribs)
1 cup of finely minced peeled carrots
1 medium sized shallot finely minced
1 ½ tblsps of finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tblsp of tomato paste
2 cups of mushroom broth from reconstituting 1oz of dried mushrooms
1 box of Pomi crushed tomatoes (approx 26 oz crushed tomatoes)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot (or Dutch oven). Add all of the fresh mushrooms and let sit until they are brown (resist stirring them until they have begun to brown!). Stir them and then let them continue to brown fully.

Once the mushrooms have browned add the celery, carrots, and shallots. Stir continuously over medium heat until they begin to wilt and soften. Add the rosemary and continue to stir until the rosemary begins to give up its flavor. Add the tomato paste and continue stirring being extra careful not to burn it; once the rawness has been removed from the paste add the mushroom broth to it. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the mixture seems to have thickened and all of the ingredients have melded together. Add the crushed tomatoes and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If possible simmer the sauce on very low, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes. The sauce gets better after allowing time for all of the flavors to meld. If you have leftovers the flavor is even better the next day.

This can be served over polenta or pasta (we really like the Quinoa pastas, which are gluten-free of course!).

Vegan Rotter Chili

One night after work, when I was trying to come up with something for dinner, I was realizing our cupboards were getting a bit bare. I looked around at what little we did have and thought I could probably make chili. This involved cleaning out the “crisper” which in our house we call the “rotter” (because let’s be honest - that is what’s going on in there). When I first began putting this chili together I thought to myself, either this will be passable or it will be disgusting. The benefit: it helped me clean out the rotter and I always feel like I beat “The Man” when I don’t have to throw anything out for having gone bad.

This ended up being some of the best chili - vegan or otherwise - Mike and I have ever had. I didn’t write any of this down as I was making this though, because I really had low expectations. As a result, the amounts listed here are approximate and you should probably just experiment yourself and make this “to taste” all the way around.

Olive oil
1 red bell pepper diced
half a large sweet onion diced
1 tblsp of tomato paste
2 tblsp chili powder
cayenne pepper to taste
about 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup of water
2 vegan veggie burgers diced (we like Trader Joe’s Tofu Veggie Burger which is gluten free and can be found in the refrigerator section)*
1 box of Pomi chopped tomatoes with their liquid (about 2 cups)
2 tblsp Braggs amino acids
1 rounded tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 tblsp of cider vinegar
1 package (or can) of cooked beans (we like the bean medley from Trader Joe’s which can be found in the refrigerator section)**


Heat olive oil in the bottom of a heavy-bottom stew pot (or Dutch oven if you have one). Add the bell pepper and onion and sauté until soft. Add the tomato paste, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Sauté to incorporate and take the rawness out of the tomato paste - stirring constantly and being careful not to burn it. Quickly add water to deglaze. Add the chopped veggie burgers and cook through (about 5 minutes on medium-high). Add the rest of the ingredients - except the beans - and simmer until all the ingredients have cooked through, the flavors have melded together, and it has thickened a little bit (10-15 minutes or so uncovered). Add the beans and simmer 1-2 minutes until they are heated through.

No one was more surprised than I was at how delicious this was.


Notes:
* It is so very difficult to find a veggie burger without gluten and without garlic. The Trader Joe's Tofu Veggie burger doesn’t have gluten, but it does have a small amount of garlic in it. We took a chance and tried it and it didn’t seem to bother Mike. We have found that in small amounts dried garlic doesn’t seem to be having too bad of an effect on him so we occasionally risk it. (This might be the inspiration I need though, to learn how to make my own tofu veggie burger.) My apologies for putting in a product that does have a small amount of garlic in it. In lieu of not being able to use this product, I suggest adding diced tofu, shredded carrots, and very finely diced celery to the chili in place of them and cooking a little bit longer until the carrots and celery are soft – and you may want to increase the amount of Braggs amino acid as well.

**I know I should like lentils more, but honestly they do nothing for me. I have cooked them (ex. I roasted parsnips and onion then added cooked black lentils to them along with some herbs de Provence, salt and pepper, and Mike loved them), but they end up feeling like filler to me instead of something tasty and wonderful. That being said, you can of course substitute cooked lentils for the beans in this recipe.

Hot & Sour Lemon Grass Soup with Scallops

This is a really wonderful soup if you are feeling under the weather. It clears out the sinuses and warms the belly nicely.


2 tblsp olive oil
2-3 cups sliced mushrooms (shitakes would be great, but regular buttons are fine)
½ medium sized onion – cut in half again and then slice thinly
1 cup if thinly sliced carrots
3 ribs of celery sliced thinly
½ cup if fresh ginger peeled and julienned
1 jalapeno pepper finely diced (I removed ½ the seeds to keep some heat but tone it down)
2 tblsp grated zest of lime
2 tblsp dried lemon grass
¼ cup of fish sauce
¾ cup of rice wine vinegar
4 cups of water
2 cups of vegetable stock
salt ant pepper to taste
2 tsps of mirin
1 lbs of scallops
4 scallions finely sliced
1 healthy handful of cilantro chopped


Heat the olive oil and when very hot add the mushrooms. Resist stirring the mushrooms until they begin to brown. Add the onion, carrots, celery, ginger, and jalapeno and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the lime zest and the lemon grass and sauté for 1-2 minutes more. Add the fish sauce, the rice wine vinegar, the water, and the vegetable stock. Simmer for 10 minutes then add salt and pepper to taste. Add the mirin and the scallops and simmer gently until the scallops are just done. Right before serving add the scallion and the cilantro. Serve piping hot.

Notes:

I had some cooked rice leftover in the refrigerator so I threw it in to make the soup more hearty. You could also hydrate some rice noodles in some boiling water for 5 minutes and toss those in at the end too.

Other things that could be added are tofu, pea-pods, bean sprouts, fresh basil, etc. I would add all of these things at then end. They only need to simmer just briefly in the soup and adding them earlier would make them mushy and unappetizing. You could of course leave the scallops out or replace it with shrimp.

Langostinos!

I grew up in Massachusetts, which has a fair number of Portuguese Americans in residence. Growing up I remember enjoying Portuguese foods such as linquica which is a type of pork sausage, Portuguese sweet bread which is a yummy and yeasty bread, and langostinos.

If you have never had langostinos, the best I can do when describing them is to tell you that they are kind of like shrimp, but have more of a sweet lobster taste and they are certainly more delicate and lighter in texture than shrimp. The tail meat has the look of crawfish tails but is a little more tender and a little more sweet; in a pinch they can substitute for crawfish or shrimp (to my mind nothing can or should be substituted for lobster).

Imagine my surprise when I went to Trader Joe’s and began seeing langostinos in the frozen fish bin. I haven’t seen them around in over 25 years. The weird part is that I remember the excitement my sister and I felt when we knew we were going to be eating them, but I don’t actually remember how they were prepared and served to us.

Trader Joe’s sells them fully cooked and frozen. I tend to like to buy shrimp uncooked because I think the flavor is better. Initially I was disappointed to see the langostinos being sold pre-cooked. A little investigation however made me understand that typically they are cooked and frozen out at sea to preserve their freshness. Like crawfish and lobster they should not be eaten if they were dead when they were cooked.

I do indeed have trouble finding crawfish tails, fresh or frozen, out here in Oregon. I used to sometimes see them being sold frozen in Massachusetts. I actually liked getting them frozen better. They would be sold as “tail meat and fat” and the fat really added flavor when I would make etouffée. Plus, all the work was done for me – no boiling, separating the tail meat, etc. Langostinos were a welcome surprise at the store and we buy them often and keep them on hand in the freezer. Thawing fish is always best when done slowly. Take them out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw slowly in the refrigerator. That way the texture of the meat will remain true and not get mushy or watery.

Enjoy the two recipes below that utilize langostinos; you can also use shrimp instead.

Sara




Langostinos Ceviche Style

1 lb of langostino tails fully thawed, rinsed under cold water briefly, and then dried
olive oil
fresh lime juice
fresh cilantro (or perhaps oregano if you dislike cilantro)
1 small shallot very finely diced
2 small and very ripe avocados diced into bite-sized chunks
2-3 plum tomatoes diced
1 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed (unless you like more heat), very finely diced
salt and pepper to taste

This recipe should be made to taste all the way around, but I've provided some amounts as a general guide. I like a 1-3 ratio of acid to oil for a dressing, but sometimes with limes and lemons (vs. vinegars) you can go 2-3 depending on their sweetness. I also love cilantro so I tend to put a lot in, but cilantro seems to be one of those love it or hate it herbs so go light if it isn’t something you love. I can’t imagine leaving it out, but if you do then you could add oregano instead. If you use fresh oregano then you can just toss it in. If you use dried oregano you can hydrate it and pull the flavor out by first adding it to the olive oil. This dish would of course also work with shrimp. You can serve it cocktail style or with some corn chips on the side. You basically throw everything into a bowl, toss it around, and serve it. Simple and delicious.

For parties you can put servings in individual cups and toss in a corn chip or three as edible garnish. A more elegant way of serving them, as an appetizer at a sit down dinner for example, would be to serve them in martini or margarita glasses.




Creole Langostinos

1lb of langostino tails fully thawed, rinsed under cold water briefly, and then dried*
3 tblsp of olive oil
1 small sweet onion diced
½ a small shallot finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced (you could also use red or green for a difference in taste and sweetness)
3 ribs of celery diced
1 jalapeno seeded and very finely diced
1 pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 ½ tsps of dried thyme
1 tsps of dried oregano
1 tblsp paprika
1 tblsp of potato starch
2-3 cups of vegetable stock
1 cup of diced tomatoes with their juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 dried bay leaf
3 scallions chopped
1 healthy handful of fresh cilantro roughly chopped


Heat oil in a large soup or stock pot (medium to medium/high heat). Sauté onion, shallot, bell pepper, celery, and jalapeno until softened. Add cayenne, thyme, oregano, and paprika and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle the mixture with the potato starch and continue cooking, stirring constantly for a minute or two. The mixture will be very dry and will begin to bind a bit. This is similar to making a roux with flour; constantly stir and don’t burn it! Add the vegetable stock. The potato starch has an intense thickening quality so add enough stock that the mixture is a little bit loose, (like a bisque for example). Add the tomatoes with their juice and then add the bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 15 minutes so the flavors have time to meld and the bay leaf has time to release its flavor. Add the langostinos and continue cooking until they are heated through. Just before serving add the scallions and cilantro. Serve over rice.**


*You can also use shrimp. A more “seafoody” variation would be to buy shrimp with the shells on. Remove the shells and devein the shrimp. Put the shells in a pot and add 2-3 cups of water. Simmer the shells for about 10 minutes and then strain the liquid (i.e. discard the shells). Use this liquid in place of the vegetable stock. In the recipe you will add the uncooked shrimp where you would have added the cooked langostinos and cook until the shrimp are just done. Be careful to not overcook the shrimp because no one likes rubber shrimp!

**Mike is a fan of brown rice. I know it has more nutritional value (or at least it is a more complex carbohydrate than white rice), but I have a big weakness for white rice. The good news is that this recipe really works well with the brown rice. The heartiness of the brown rice makes this dish even more satisfying.

Caribbean Stew

Years ago two very good friends of mine went Vegan. Veganism is now not only a way of life for them it is also their life’s work. One year one of them hand made recipe books for a small group of friends that contained all Vegan recipes. This particular recipe was apparently a modification of a recipe in The Moosewood Cookbook. Looking through that cookbook I think it is a modification of the “Gypsy Soup” recipe.

I’ve modified the modified recipe to the point where it is a rather different thing from the original Moosewood recipe and a bit different from my friend’s modification as well, but I feel it’s necessary to mention these things if only to point out how modifying existing recipes can inspire creativity and new dishes.

One quick note about the stew: do not skip adding the lime juice. The stew is merely mediocre without it. If you don’t think it matters, taste the stew before adding the lime juice and then taste it again after adding it. You’ll notice a huge difference. The stew becomes sweet and the flavors become very round. This is an addictive dish. I also think it is a fantastic way to get some kale into your diet.

2 tblsps olive oil
1 medium to large sweet onion diced
1 tblsp Allspice
1 large, or two small sweet potatoes – peeled and cut into soup-spoon sized chunks
1 jalapeno pepper finely diced (I remove the seeds and ribs so the stew is mild, but for more heat you could leave them in)
4 cups of curly kale chopped up*
4 cups of water
1 box of Pomi brand chopped tomatoes (or a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, or approximately 1 ½ cups of fresh tomatoes peeled and diced with their juice)
1 large or 2 small, zucchini squash cut into soup-spoon sized chunks
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 lime – juiced (about 2 tablespoons, but you can add to taste)
¼ cup of fresh cilantro roughly chopped

In a large soup or stock pot sauté the sweet onion in the olive oil over medium heat until they are soft. Add in the finely diced jalapeno and sauté one minute more. Add in the allspice and stir to incorporate. Add in the sweet potatoes and the kale. Pour the water in and also add the tomatoes with their juice. Continue cooking the mixture on medium heat (at a low boil) for ten minutes or so (until the kale is becoming tender). Add in the zucchini and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until the zucchini is at the desired tenderness. Add the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Before serving add the cilantro and stir through.

*I try to use the curly kale because it cooks quicker and isn’t so tough. If all you can find is the more fibrous waxy type of kale you’ll need to adjust the cooking time to accommodate it. If you’d like to learn a little more about kale here is a handy Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kale

Basic Madras Curry

This is a basic Madras curry that can then be used with vegetables, fried firm tofu, or fish. This is a simplified curry sauce that removes the sometimes complex, many-dirty-pans, and labor-intensive aspects of typical curry recipes.

4 tblsp soy butter
1 medium onion diced
1 small shallot finely diced*
2 tblsp Madras curry powder
1 ½ cups of vegetable stock**
½ cup of light coconut milk
3 tblsp golden raisins or currants
2 tsp sugar

In a non-stick pan sauté the onion and shallots in 2 tblsp of soy butter until translucent and soft. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan melt the remaining 2 tblsp of soy butter and add the curry powder. Cook the curry powder very briefly (maybe 1-2 minutes) in the soy butter until the rawness is cooked out, being very careful not to burn it. Immediately add the vegetable stock and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture has combined well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the golden raisins, or currants, and simmer another minute or two until they have plumped up. Add the sugar and the coconut milk and sauté a few minutes more until combined.

Vegan suggestion: I suggest sautéing vegetables in a pan, perhaps even lightly browned for added depth of flavor (particularly delicious is browned zucchini squash), and once cooked add the curry sauce and serve over rice. Tofu can of course be used as well.

Pescatarian suggestion: fry up the fish in some soy butter, or brush with olive oil and broil for a few minutes, and then finish cooking in the curry sauce. Another quick weekday option is to just cook the fish right in the sauce and simmer until the fish is cooked through. By skipping the sautéing you save yourself having to clean another pan and the meal is done just that much quicker. This suggestion would work with shrimp as well. Serve over rice.


*Shallots are used instead of garlic. Garlic is always in curries, but if your system can’t handle garlic then shallots may be more tolerable (as they are for Mike). You can omit them completely if you want.

**Store bought vegetable broth typically has garlic in it. Store bought vegetable stock, however often times does not. Check your labels!