Dairy-Free – Page 38 – The Food Wife

Thai Red Ox Cheek Curry

15th August 201818th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 6-8

This week it was our wedding anniversary and I asked The Food Husband what he would like to eat to celebrate at home (after treating ourselves to a fabulous meal at Menu Gordon Jones in Bath at the weekend). We decided that a Thai curry using ox cheek was the winner. Itâ€™s definitely a favourite and is an excellent way of using the cut of meat.

If youâ€™ve never tried cheek you must. It requires a lot of cooking but when it is treated in this way you are left with the most succulent, melt in the mouth, flavoursome meat. And the good news is it’s cheap. Itâ€™s only about seven or eight pounds a kilo and this will feed eight people, so very economical for something so delicious.

I usually make this with a shop-bought paste in which case I would use maybe half the quantity cited in the ingredients as it is a lot spicier than my homemade version. But this time Iâ€™ve made my own (gentler) paste which can be found here. You are looking for 500ml of liquid – I have used a tin of coconut milk and then topped it up with water as I was making a more calorie friendly version. For a richer, more traditional curry, use all coconut milk. You can add whichever vegetables you would like to the curry. I chose mushrooms, peppers and bamboo shoots. Aubergine, courgette and green beans would also work well.

This can be cooked low and slow in the oven or, as Iâ€™ve done it this time, in the Instant Pot in a fraction of the time. If cooking in the oven do steps one and two on the hob on a medium high heat and then transfer to the oven with the lid on for step three and cook at 150c for four hours (do check every so often if it needs more liquid though). Return to the hob for stage four onwards.

Once cooked, if serving fewer people, portion up and freeze. Once defrosted it’ll only take a few minutes to heat back through on the hob.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp coconut oil
8 shallots, peeled and quartered
3 heaped tbsp Thai red curry paste
2 ox cheeks (total between 800g-1kg in weight), cut in to 2 inch square dice
500ml coconut milk (or mix of water and coconut milk)
6 lime leaves
2 peppers, cut into large dice
1 tin of bamboo shoots, drained
300g Mushrooms, halved (I used Chinese straw mushrooms)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
Salt

Stage 1: Set the Instant Pot to sautÃ© mode and add the coconut oil and shallots. Stir frequently for a few minutes until the start to brown, then add the ox cheek and seal on all sides.

Step 2: Once the meat is browned, add the curry paste and stir so that it starts to cook out and has a good covering over the meat. Then add your liquid and the lime leaves and stir.

Step 3: Turn sautÃ© mode off and replace the lid, ensuring the valve is set to sealing. Manually set it to cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. Allow it to depress naturally.

Step 4: Remove the lid and remove the meat, use two forks to shred the flesh, and then return to the pot.

Step 5: Switch back on to sautÃ© mode and add your vegetables, sugar, fish sauce and salt (to taste). Cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.

Try serving this with steamed rice, a green vegetable (we had pak choi) and a simple cucumber salad; simply slice cucumber, sprinkle over a pinch of salt and some lime juice and add a little mint (if you like). We also had a few cheeky prawn crackers.

Thai Red Curry Paste

13th August 201813th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 6 heaped tbsp

I have no qualms about using a shop-bought curry paste and Iâ€™ve normally got one or two tubs in my fridge from one of my trips to the Asian Supermarket in Bristol. In Thailand a popular brand is Mae Ploy, and you can pick a tub up (probably in your local supermarket) for just a couple of quid.

So whilst I will normally use a ready-made paste, occasionally I will make my own. Here is a recipe that can easily be whizzed up in a food processor (or for the more authentic experience it should be pounded in a pestle and mortar for a long time).

Now, you can up (or down) the chilli as you see fit. This is certainly not as hot as many but I think it has a decent kick. In order to achieve a redder colour you could add some tomato purÃ©e or include a red pepper in your paste.

Ingredients:
3 shallots, peeled and quartered
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
2 sticks of lemon grass, topped and tailed, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 red chillies, de-stalked, seeds left in and roughly chopped
30g coriander (including stalks)
1 (kaffir) lime, zest only
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander

Step 1: Blitz all ingredients in a food processor. If necessary, do so in batches and bring together at the end for a final few pulses of the machine. Alternatively you could use a pestle and mortar to crush the ingredients together.

Note that I have not included any salt. If you are doing this in a pestle and mortar you would want to add some salt to act as an abrasive to help break down the ingredients. I choose to add my salt during the cooking process, especially if I am adding fish sauce to the curry as this will provide a lot of the necessary saltiness. If you want a looser paste, a little water could be added to help things along.

Any unused paste can be frozen (I do so in little pots) that can then be whipped out as and when.

Butterbean and Rosemary Dip

6th August 20186th August 2018
by thefoodwife

If you are looking for an alternative to hummus then Iâ€™d recommend giving this a go. Really simple but such wonderful flavours.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
1 tin of butterbeans, drained
Salt and pepper

Step 1: Place the olive oil and rosemary in a pan and heat carefully. As soon as it is boiling, remove from the heat and allow to cool. The oil will be infused by the pungent rosemary ready to use in the dip.

Step 2: Blitz the butterbeans, garlic, a pinch each of salt and pepper, along with oil until you have a smooth paste. Check the seasoning and serve.

Prawn Summer Pasta

1st August 20181st August 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 1

The Food Husband went out for the evening which called for seafood for me!

The hotter weather weâ€™ve been having recently means I want something lighter than my Prawn Linguine with its rich tomato sauce. Instead I want the pasta to be coated more in a dressing and this is achieved from the peppery olive oil and lemon juice. Using fresh tomatoes and spring onion gives a speedy and simple base to this dish and the fennel enhances the prawns beautifully.

Ready from start to finish in 15 minutes this is fresh fast food and whilst this serves one, you can just scale-up as required.

Ingredients:
75g pasta (the shape of your choice, I chose gemelli. If making this gluten-free make sure you choose a suitable pasta)
2 medium tomatoes, diced or 2 small handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved or a mix of the two
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tsp of fennel seeds
150g raw prawns, peeled and deveined (I used tiger prawns)
1 fat clove of garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced (zest optional)

Step 1: Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions.

Step 2: Whilst your pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and add the fennel seeds, tomatoes and spring onion.

Step 3: After 2 minutes add the garlic and stir and then add your prawns. Stir or toss the pan every so often until the prawns are just cooked through.

Step 4: Add your drained pasta, along with a little of the cooking water and toss in the sauce along with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (and a little of the zest if you like).

You could also add a little fresh or dried chilli in step 3. I also threw in a few freshly torn basil leaves as I served which complements the anniseedy fennel seeds. This is nice served with a green salad.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry

27th July 201827th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 6-8

Creamy, sweet and spicy, this is a lovely curry that is cheap to make and is really satisfying. As well as tasting great, it is rich in iron from the spinach and vitamin C from the sweet potato. Using coconut oil and coconut milk rather than ghee and cream or yogurt keeps this vegan-friendly and is not bad from a diet point of view either as the quantities of these between the portions are small.

As long as your baby likes spices, this is great for them too; just siphon theirs off before seasoning at the end, and you could blend it before serving. You could add a little cooling full fat yogurt stirred into their curry if needed.

Ingredients:
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
4 green cardamom, seeds only (pod removed)
1 dsp coconut oil
2 onions, halved and sliced
2 inch piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 heaped tsp garam masala
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes
300ml veg stock
Large pinch of dried curry leaves
250g spinach, washed
165ml coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste.

Step 1: Toast the coriander, fennel and cardamom spices and then blend in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar.

Step 2: Add the coconut oil to a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until softened, but not browned.

Step 3: Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further two minutes, stirring frequently.

Step 4: Add the freshly ground spices and cook for another five minutes, stirring frequently.

Step 5: Add the chilli powder and garam masala and stir, cooking for a couple of minutes.

Step 6: Add the cubed sweet potato along with the stock and curry leaves . Cover with a lid and cook for ten minutes on a gentle simmer.

Step 7: Add the coconut milk, replace the lid and simmer until the sweet potato is softened (about another ten minutes).

Step 8: Add your spinach, stir, and replace the lid for two minutes.

Step 9: Season to taste and serve.

I served this with nutty brown basmati rice and some spiced homegrown green beans. I simply blanched the beans until tender in boiling water and then lightly fried them for a couple of minutes in a little coconut oil, a teaspoon of brown mustard seeds and a teaspoon of ground cumin, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end.