Easy, peasy, Thai green curry!

I thought living with a meat eater would cause all sorts of tension, not because I am no longer cooking the required meat and two veg, (I hate cooking, my speciality is boiling everything dry, it’s more can’t cook, won’t cook and if I burn it to buggery I won’t be asked to cook too often!) but because my husband does the majority of cooking in our house, I thought he might not be too keen on having to cook separate meals for the veggies and again for the meat-eaters.
However, he has taken to it like a duck to water (not boiling water, just pond water.) He is mainly vegetarian now, apart from the occasional burger and we are living like kings, he is such a good cook!

Being a vegetarian doesn’t mean you have to live on boiled vegetables and rice, good for slimming but I love my food too much, I want to taste it.
Last night we had Thai green curry, so full of calories, but mouth watering, completely vegetarian and so easy to make.

We had it with broccoli, mushrooms and red peppers, but you could substitute one of the vegetables with tofu, so simple to use, either put in whole at the vegetable adding stage and it will coat everything, or cut it into cubes and fry, then add it to the curry paste with the veg. It takes on the taste of the sauce and is full of protein.

Vegetable Thai Green Curry (as told to me by the chef of the household!)

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp green curry paste (according to taste)
1 tbsp soft dark
brown sugar
1-2 thick stalks lemongrass, fat ends bashed with a rolling pin (optional)750g/1½lb approx of mixed vegetables i.e. blanched broccoli, mushrooms cut into quarters, sliced red peppers, basically use whatever you have in the cupboard.
6-8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces (if unavailable, use the grated zest of 1 lime)
400ml/14fl oz coconut milk
small handful of washed spinach
small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
½-1 lime, juice, plus quarters for decoration

Method
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the green curry paste and sugar and cook over a fairly high heat for about a minute, stirring with the lemongrass, if using. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the peppers, fry for about three minutes, add the remaining vegetables (and tofu) and lime leaves or zest until coated in the paste.
Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil, turn down heat to simmer, cooking for 5-6 minutes until thickened slightly, making sure your vegetables don’t get too soft.
Stir in the coriander and lime juice. Sprinkle the spinach on top to wilt.
The curry is now best left to sit for a few minutes so the sauce becomes creamier. You will also taste the true flavours of the curry paste ingredients when it's slightly cooler.
Serve with a quarter of lime and lots of fragrant Thai jasmine rice. Yum!