Currabinny Cooks: Being resourceful can lead to surprisingly delicious results
We take for granted how we are so usually spoiled for choice when it comes to food.
Heading out to the local organic greengrocers in Cabra for a bunch of cavelo nero, some miso paste and a little packet of freekah whenever we so please, seems like a faraway dream right about now.
Our local greengrocers hasn’t been able to keep going amidst the turmoil of panic buying toilet paper and dried pasta in the large supermarkets.
If you do have a local greengrocers, butchers or indeed any small independent essential business or service open nearby to you right now, we urge you to support them as much as possible.
We will all miss them dearly if they go.
Resourcefulness in the kitchen doesn’t necessarily come to us intuitively.
Maybe we are of the spoiled generation who naturally take for granted how much of everything we have so easily at hand.
This whole epidemic has made us both far more aware of the wastefulness in which we go about making food in general.
We had previously prided ourselves on the small interventions of using local ingredients where possible, seasonal ingredients where possible and always recycling and composting where possible.
These are things we still fervently stand by and continue to practice, but still, looking at the overall relationship with food and cooking, there is so much we do that creates unnecessary waste.
For the first time in a long while we have tried to really look at all the ingredients we already have, jars of this and that packed away for months and years, a whole souks worth of different spices and seasonings, dried herbs and nuts.
Instead of instantly going out to get more ingredients, we forced ourselves to make do and the results were surprisingly delicious.
Homemade Oat Milk
Learning how to make your own alternative milk is like being let in on a secret.
Once you get the basics down, you will wonder why everyone isn’t making their own.
Never be stuck for milk again, all you need is water and your choice of oats or nuts.
We are die hard oat milk fans but if almonds or cashews or any other type of nut is more your thing, then this recipe, based on simple ratios will work just as well.
- Rolled oats
- Sea salt
- Water (filtered is ideal)
This recipe is all about ratios, so instead of using exact measurements just take in to account the ratio you use of oats to water.
We generally make enough for the week for two of us.
We use 1 regular teacup size of oats and place it in a bowl with the same size cup again of filtered water.
Leave for no less than 8 hours or over night to soak.
The oats will swell and soak up most if not all of this liquid.
When the soaking time is up, drain the oats of any excess liquid and place in a blender or large food processor with 4 of the cups you have been using of filtered water and blitz until you have a smooth, milky liquid.
At this stage we add a small pinch of sea salt, although if you liked you could also add a little honey if you like your milk particularly sweet.
There is a chance here for you to experiment further with things like vanilla bean paste, chocolate powder, cinnamon, different syrups, even things like dates or berries could be added to give you a flavoured oat milk.
For the next part of this recipe you will need a cheesecloth, coffee filter paper or something similar.
With the cheesecloth fashion a bag over a large jug and pour the oat liquid into the bag.
Leave it to strain until most of the liquid has passed through into the jug and then squeeze the rest of the liquid in the bag out with your hands.
The liquid in the jug is your oat milk, which should keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
Green Curry Paste
We have a huge amount of spices stored away in a little cupboard next to the oven in our kitchen.
Multiples of everything, in every recognisable brand, cumin and coriander, ground and whole, dried bay and kefir lime leaves, little jars of za’atar and sumac, every possible thing you could think of.
Neither of us can recall when, where or for what occasion we got most of it or why we have five jars of ground cumin, but when stuck with the bare minimum ingredients, the spice rack can be a wonderful place to find inspiration.
Curry is such a resourceful store cupboard thing to make, you use only a small amount of each spice and the result is something that is full of flavour, easy to make and can be scaled up to feed an army.
For a proper Thai green curry, you would definitely use some lemongrass, smashed hard with the pestle to release the wonderfully aromatic flavours.
We didn’t have any, although there is plenty available in most supermarkets, so we did without, which is sort of the wonderful thing about resourceful recipes like this one, if you don’t have something, don’t panic, use what you do have.
We make this in a large old mortar and pestle, you could do it in a food processor, but the crushing and grinding of the mortar and pestle is the optimum method for releasing all of the amazing flavours.
This recipe makes roughly around 150ml of paste.
- 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoons of black peppercorns
- 4-5 small green chillies, remove seeds if you don’t want it too hot
- 1 large thumb of ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 shallots or 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- A large handful of coriander, chopped (roots & stems included)
- 3 teaspoons of lime zest
- Juice of 1 lime
- Large pinch of sea salt
Using a large mortar and pestle, crush the coriander, cumin and black peppercorns.
Add the shallot, chillies, ginger and garlic and grind into a paste.
Add the coriander, in batches if you need and bash away at it until everything is broken down.
Add the lime zest and juice, a good pinch of sea salt and taste a small bit of it to see if it needs anything else.
Scrape out into a small sterilised jar, it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Green Curry with tender stem broccoli & Basmati
This is how we used the paste we made in the previous recipe.
We had a nice bunch of tender stem in the fridge which, although slightly neglected, had not been forgotten, they were just waiting for the right dish.
With something as simple as a green curry, any vegetable will do, really.
If you have some courgette, potatoes, mushrooms, spinach, onions, or peppers, chop them up thinly enough and add them in to the mix.
Chicken, beef or tofu would also be wholly appropriate for this recipe, although we prefer to keep it veggie.
We used white basmati, but brown would be great here too.
Other possible additions would be some crispy fried onions or chopped peanuts.
We tend not to par boil the broccoli as we like it with a nice crunchy texture, but by all means lightly par boil or steam if that is your preference.
Serves 2-4
- The whole amount of the green curry paste from the previous recipe
- A large bunch of tender stem broccoli
- 1 tin of coconut milk
- Small handful fresh coriander or basil, chopped
- 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
- 400ml can coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons of fish sauce (optional)
- Vegetable oil
- Sea salt
- 200g basmati
Cook the basmati as per packet instructions until nice and fluffy.
Season lightly with sea salt.
In a large wok on medium high heat, add roughly a tablespoon of vegetable oil and leave it to heat up before adding the sliced onion.
After a minute or two add the broccoli and a nice pinch of sea salt and leave to cook, stirring and moving the veg around the pan often for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the green curry paste and stir it around for around 30 seconds to leave the spices release their flavours.
Add the coconut milk and let it come to a bubble before adding the sugar, a little more salt and the fish sauce if using.
Simmer for 6-8 minutes before taking off the heat and adding the coriander or basil (or both).
Serve with the basmati.
Beer of the Week
Mescan online: www.mescanbrewery.com, Matsons, Bradleys, Egans, Michaels, Redmonds, McHughs and every decent bar and off-licence in Mayo.
Mescan are based on the slopes of Croagh Patrick and named for Patrick’s friend and brewer Mescan — his beer was so good it got Patrick audiences with Chieftans.
Their range is diverse covering stout, lambic, saison and lager and anyone that orders from Mescan will be invited to their ‘Post Corona Party’ — an excellent incentive — via www.mescanbrewery.com.
Mescan Blond is their bog seller and it is a perfect springtime beer, refreshing on warmer days but rich enough for the cooler evenings.
Pouring a hazy gold with a light fluffy head, aromas of pear, citrus and bright fruits mixed with malted darker fruits, characterful and fresh with texture and a crisp finish.
