Monday, December 31, 2012

Peanut Sauce Chicken


Confession time.  I realize this will sound odd to most people but I must admit that I do not like peanut butter.  I love lightly salted dry roasted peanuts, but do not like raw peanuts or (gasp) peanut butter.  That being said I do adore this dish.  With my known aversion to peanut butter I cannot remember why I tried this initially, but now it is a family favorite.  Oh and for the record I do like peanut satay (which this is slightly reminiscent) and Reese's peanut butter cups and Reese's Pieces, but not Peanut Butter M&M's.  Weird I know...




Peanut Sauce Chicken

Ingredients

 2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 Tbsp coconut or olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic

1 C peanut butter 
1 C milk
1/2 C soy sauce* 
1/3 C brown sugar
1/4 C cooking sherry
6 dashes red pepper sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 C chopped peanuts 

Garnish:
chopped peanuts
green onion
red pepper flakes

Directions

Cook the chicken in a large skillet in the oil until lightly browned.
Add the onion and garlic and cook another couple of minutes.
Remove the chicken, onion and garlic from the pan.
If you have some chicken browning stuck to the pan just add a bit of the milk and scrape off the chicken.  This add a lot of rich flavor to your sauce. 
Add the rest of the milk, peanut butter, and soy sauce.
Stir constantly until well blended and smooth. 
Add the brown sugar, sherry, pepper sauce and pepper flakes and 1/4 C peanuts.
Stir until smooth.
Return chicken, onion and garlic mixture to the pan.
Cook on low, stirring occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken.
Cook about five more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice or oriental noodles.  
Garnish with more chopped peanuts, green onion and red pepper flakes for a festive flair.

Tips and Hints 

  • You can use creamy or chunky peanut butter depending on your preference.  
  • *To make this gluten free use La Choy or another brand of soy sauce that does not contain wheat.  These are a bit tricky to find, but are out there if you look.
  • If you are really timid you can cut down on the red pepper, but I'd say to leave a bit in, the slight kick is awesome.
  • If the dish is too salty go for a lower sodium soy sauce or peanut butter.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

I recently found a different pumpkin curry that called for diced fresh pumpkin.  Since this was between Halloween and Thanksgiving there was nary a pumpkin to be found at the regular stores.  Finally as a friend and I were out and about we found a roadside stand with pumpkins so I bought a small one.  It had a skin that would have done well for a shield for Iron Man as it was practically impervious.  I did manage to get the seeds out and roast them, but mourned the loss of the potential to use the flesh for cooking.  (Steaming it to soften it ruined the texture and the recipe was a flop).  About a week later I saw a neighbor ready to toss her pumpkins from her porch and asked if I could have them, as they were still in prime condition.     Now with a whole new batch of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds and a whole lot of diced pumpkin I decided to find a new pumpkin recipe. Of course I did my own tweaking and this is the yummy result.  It is even better the second day.  


Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup


Ingredients:


2 pounds cubed fresh pumpkin*
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt 

1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/4 cup coconut oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

3 cups vegetable broth
1-2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon - 2 Tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes 

1 can coconut milk

Directions:

Put 1 1/2 pounds of the pumpkin in a baking dish, toss with the olive oil and sea salt.  
Roast in a 325 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
In a large pot add the coconut oil and heat until melted.  Add the onion, carrot and celery to make a mirapoix.  Allow the veggies to caramelize as directed in the mirapoix.  
Add the garlic and saute a couple more minutes. 
Deglaze the pan with the broth.     

Add the curry powder, red pepper flakes and remaining half pound of uncooked pumpkin.
Simmer about 10 minutes.
Add the cooked pumpkin and simmer 10 minutes more.
Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and process until smooth
Return to the pot.
Shake the can of coconut milk well and pour into the blender.
Blend on high for about 60 seconds to remove the soup that is still clinging to the sides of the blender.
Pour into the pot and continue to heat another 5-10 minutes while stirring until all is heated through and well incorporated 

Tips and Hints

  • *You can substitute canned pumpkin in this soup when fresh pumpkin is not available, just add it after you've pureed the rest of the ingredients.
  • You can use an immersion blender rather than a traditional blender.
  • If you are familiar with this blog at all you know we love spicy in our family so I ampped up the red pepper flakes, feel free to adjust to your taste.
  • The crackers in the photo are delicious with this soup and anything else you care to use them with.  They are Kirkland Signature Ancient Grains Crackers from Costco and have Millet, Amaranth, Quinoa and Teff grains in them. 
  • Since vegetable broth is not as readily available in forms such as  bullion powder, soup base, paste etc.  You can easily substitute chicken broth, it just won't be vegetarian.