Potato Chard curry - not the most vibrant looking dish, but pretty vibrant in flavor.
We arrived home and everyone had lunch, then we planted Luca’s bean project and a cabbage he brought home from school. Then, the day seemed to disappear . . . I went for a run, a friend called about an impromptu gathering for another friend who was passing through, Scott got out the industrial sized weed eater and started hacking away at bushes. I decided on a quick curry I had wanted to make earlier in the week. I prepped all the ingredients (with Luca volunteering to help! He separated the leaves from the rainbow chard – he called it disco chard.) before going to my friend’s, then put the dish together when I arrived home later. While the curry simmered, I made a simple rice pilaf.
It was tasty and came together quickly – perfect for a Saturday that (pleasantly) got away from me.
Potato and Chard with a Green Curry Sauce
slightly adapted from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen (This is one of our go-to cookbooks – quick, flavorful meals arranged by season . . . only one or two clunkers so far.)
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger root
1 14-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk, with 1/2 cup thickened cream scooped out and reserved
1 tablespoon (to taste) prepared green curry paste (I bought Maesri Green Curry Paste at our international grocery. Thai Kitchen brand is more widely available. I started out with 1/2 a tablespoon then added more as the dish came together.)
1/2 cup water
2 lbs. yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks (I threw in a couple Russets because I didn’t have enough Yukons. The Russets did break down a bit, which was fine. They added a thickness to the sauce. I would not make this with all Russets because you would end up with mashed potatoes.)
salt
1 bunch swiss chard, leaves removed from the stems and chopped
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon or more fresh lime juice
Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, no more than 1 minute.
Add the 1/2 cup thickened coconut cream and curry paste. Simmer briskly 2-3 minutes until the liquid evaporates and a thick paste forms.
Add the remaining coconut milk, water, potatoes, and 1/2 ts. salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Stir in the chard, cover and cook, until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Add salt to taste and serve over rice.
Ratings:
Me: B+ (See Scott’s comment below. I did hold back on the curry paste because of the kids. I can see this dish as a platform and adding other vegetables like red bell pepper or zucchini during the summer.)
Scott: B (“It needs a little something else – more heat, another vegetable.”)
Luca: A (“I would give it an A+ if the rice wasn’t so salty.”)
Alia: D (She had a few bites, but that was it)
I just finished eating this & really liked it!! I would make it again. Now, I used light coconut milk because of WW’s (I know the author of the original recipe said not to….but I had no choice). I’m looking forward to eating more tomorrow wondering if the flavors will change. We used 1 Tbs of the green curry paste & perhaps try with 1 1/2 Tbs next time to see what that does. Since we’re no red bell pepper people….your suggestion of zucchini would be a nice addition. I wonder what else would work? This is a new type of recipe for us AND a first using chard. The produce guy was being an a_ _. We know nothing about chard & saw red chard. I told him that we’re trying something new to us & asked him if this is like Swiss chard. He responded as if I were an idiot. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Thanks so much for reporting back, Eileen! It sounds like you all had the same response as we did. I think I will add more curry paste next time. I have been wracking my brain for other additions and have only come up with chickpeas so far. I’m glad you liked it!