Thursday, March 10, 2011

From the Garden to the Table: Green Curry Tofu and Beans with Rice







I had some green and yellow beans in the garden, a piece of organic tofu in the fridge, and some leftover green curry paste in the freezer. When I make green curry I usually have too much for one meal so I freeze the rest (it freezes really well). My paste is really simple, some fresh ginger (peeled) some shallot (also peeled), fresh coriander (with stalks), green chilli (not too much for me, maybe one or two), and fresh lemon grass (one stick). If you have kaffir lime leaves or rind, the are good too, apparently, but I didn't have any. You should use a mortar and pestle, but I just added a little salt and blended everything in the food mixer.


For the curry

1 tbsp of green curry paste
(see recipe above)
2 tbsp oil
Green and yellow beans
Tofu, cut in big pieces
1 can coconut cream
Water
Fresh Vietnamese mint
Chilli (optional)

accompany with a blend of long and wild rice.


Sizzle the curry paste with the oil, add the beans and tofu, and then the coconut cream. Fill up the empty can of coconut cream with water and add (this way you can rinse and save all the coconut cream that get stuck to the can). Add salt only if you need it (my paste was salty already). Cook for 20 minutes, then add the Vietnamese mint (but also fresh coriander or Thai basil, if you have them) and the chilli, if you wish. Serve with steamed rice.


And now a few words about the the setting:

Ambra from Il Gattoghiotto is running a nice competition called Mise en Place




I love setting the table for different occasions, so why not? My style? It changes with the occasion and food, but generally I like the 'minimalist' look, and since what I like is to source my food from the garden or from the wild, I wanted to source my mise en place in the same way too.

 I have a corner in my garden that looks quite tropical, with a few banana plants.




I went out with my machete: dadadadaaammm!! Those of you who have meet me are probably giggling by now, I am not exactly a bush woman!





The leaves needs to be washed well, like you would do with china, and dried with a tea-towel.




For a romantic dinner share a leaf between two.
Food can be served directly on the leaf (use as a plate) so I put the rice on the leaf but left the curry (it has a liquid sauce) in a bowl. Then you can pour the curry over the rice (use a nice ethnic wooden spoon) and eat with... fingers?? I never managed to, so spoon and fork worked well for us.




Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©









32 comments:

  1. Beautiful, you have banana plant in your garden. I miss banana leaves, once i planted in my garden, do to heavy winds always leafs are broken like a strips so stopped planting them.

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  2. I have to plant mine in shelter, the wind is terrible with banana plants. I have two spots in the garden where we don't get much wind, so I put them there (one in the photo, against the water tank).

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  3. Oh my goodness...this looks amazingly yummy...I love how you presented it on the banana leaf...how lucky to have a banana plant in your yard. xoxoxoo

    Thursday hugs to you. xoxoxo

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  4. Oh Wow! You have banana plant in your garden, that's fantastic. Your presentation is lovely. Rice and curry looks very yummy.

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  5. Mi hai lasciato senza parole Ale!!!!Brava, hai capito lo spirito del contest...con questa foglia meravigliosa hai allestito una tavola meravigliosa!!!Smack!!

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  6. Brava, che fantasia!
    Da oggi ti seguo incuriosita!
    Claudia

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  7. Grazie Claudia, adesso vengo a trovarti anch'io :-)

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  8. Vero che un giorno me lo mostrerai il tuo giardino delle meraviglie???
    Quant'รจ bello questo setting!per non parlare della ricettina...;)
    Baci

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  9. yum yum yummmmm... Thai food is always good. I didn't know how to make curry paste from scratch. I always use store-bought paste!

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  10. Lovely presentation! I've finally got round to updating my blogroll and added you on there for regular cooking inspiration!

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  11. @ Saretta, certo che te lo faro' vedere, basta che arrivi fino a qui!

    @ Holly, Cheers!

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  12. Ciao! il tuo blog รจ molto carino, teniamoci in contatto ....! Recentemente ho fatto diverse ricette cn il curry verde, una la posterรฒ prossimamente, la tua รจ interessante! E anche a surgelarlo nn avevo mai pensato!

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  13. Suggestive photos, the very first one looks soooo professional.
    I always buy organic tofu and then it just goes in the trash bin, it's awful, but I remember the tofu I ate while in Us and it wasn't all that bad.
    Thanks for the recipe.

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  14. Fabipasticcio, it took me a while to learn to cook with tofu :-), but it is a wonderful ingredient!

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  15. Your green curry tofu looks good, and I like it that you serve it on a banana leaf. Some of our local Indian restaurant served their meal on banana leaves and are simply divine!

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  16. This is one of my favourite and standby dishes. I've never used Vietnamese mint though, must keep an eye out for it.

    The banana leaves are pretty ccol too, not easy to come by in Scotland. Lucky you to have your own :)

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  17. Che splendide foto, Alessandra, con quella luce meravigliosa, sole, sole, sole...qui uggioso! Un bacio. (molto bello anche il signor machete!)

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  18. Kitchen Flavour, I also ate curry on a banana leaf in an Indian restaurant in Singapore, but because I wasn't able to eat with my fingers they gave me a spoon and a fork :-).

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  19. How yummy. I am looking for a recipe for pumpkin flowers. Any ideas? xo

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  20. The setting looks beautiful Alessandra and the photonis great.

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  21. Hi MaidinAustralia,

    I tend to cook only zucchini flowers, but when desperate I used pumpkin flowers. Use them in the same way, 3 recipes here http://alessandrazecchini.blogspot.com/search/label/zucchini%20flowers

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  22. Love the picture of you handing a machete, it's so funny! Great recipe!

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  23. I wish I could harvest things from my backyard. Well if I had a backyard and not just a balcony :P

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  24. Non conoscevo il curry verde! Grazie per i numerosi spunti che mi hai dato!

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  25. Yari, hehehehe! ed e' pure un vero machete brasiliano!

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  26. Cara Alessandra mi auguro di cuore che i tuoi dolori non siano riconducibili all'endometriosi, aspetto tue notizie che spero saranno positive! Resto in attesa di ricevere le ricette che vorrai inviarmi per il Contest, anche in inglese ;)
    Ti abbraccio forte
    Sonia

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  27. Great post - love all the step by step photos!

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  28. This simple dish is enchanting, Alessandra, and your photos are magical. I love that peek into your garden, machete and all - it does look very tropical!

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  29. I always want bananas in our backyard, but the climate in Onewhero seems doesn't permit it. Lovely tofu soup :)

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  30. che meraviglia! presentazione elegante e insolita e ricetta molto accativante! ciao Ely

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  31. Raffinata la presentazione e deliziosa la ricetta! Non sarai una donna della foresta, ma il tuo machete รจ abbastanza minaccioso! :)
    Patrizia

    www.melagranata.it

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