• 2.5cm knob of galangal or ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• Small handful of coriander stalks
Ingredients for the curry:
• 800g shoulder of lamb or braising steak, diced into bite size pieces
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1 x 400ml can coconut milk
• 4 shallots, peeled and halved
• 8 waxy potatoes (such as Charlotte), peeled and halved
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp palm or brown sugar
• Juice of ½ lime
• 40g natural roasted peanuts
• Holy basil leaves to serve
Preparation:
1. Place the red chillies into a bowl and cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Dry fry the
spices in a frying pan until fragrant and then add them to the tall cup. Add the cross blade and grind to a
powder, set aside.
2. In the same pan add a splash of vegetable oil and fry the shallots, garlic, galangal or ginger and the lem-
ongrass until softened slightly. Add this mixture to the dry spices and add the lime leaves, shrimp paste,
coriander stalks and the red chillies along with a little vegetable oil and blend to a smooth paste, you may
need to scrap down the cup to ensure and even mixture.
3. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan and add the curry paste and the meat and
stir well. Brown the meat on all sides, add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and the coconut milk and
½ can water, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat down to a simmer and continue to cook for 1 and
½ hours.
4. After 1 and ½ hours, add the shallots and the potatoes along with the fish sauce, palm or brown sugar and
the lime juice and stir well. Continue to cook for 30 minutes or until the potatoes, shallots and meat are
tender. Stir in the peanuts and add the holy basil if using.
5. Serve with steamed Jasmine rice.
Serves 4
Green Olive and Artichoke Tapenade)
This makes a lovely topping for grilled crostini and can also be used to stuff or top fresh grilled fish.
Ingredients:
• 3 tbsp capers, drained
• 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
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