Spice up meat dishes

Thai yellow curry soup.

It has been a while between recipes and for that, I apologise.

It has been foodie paradise in Whakatane this year, with two new events; the Wild Food Challenge and the Sunshine and a Plate Food Festival.

I am so lucky to have been involved in both events, but it has taken every bit of spare time I had. So now, after a week to rest my body and mind, I am happily writing again.

One of my jobs for the Sunshine and a Plate food festival was a wild food demo, sponsored by HOBEC. Using fresh swordfish for my protein, I made curry two ways, using traditional red and green Thai curry pastes.

Making curry paste is really easy and so rewarding. The recipe I am sharing today has been used as a sauce for every meat I cook and is really good with vegetables or lentils, too.

I have served it as a main, an entre, as a soup and as a stew. It is versatile and no matter what you do with it, it tastes good. When you make your paste, make a good sized batch - it freezes well.

I divide my leftover paste into meal lots and store in zip-lock bags in the freezer. Then simply take it out, thaw and fry, like you would when it is fresh. I would love to hear how you get on, so feel free to make contact.

- Kia makona, Mawera Karetai www.thewildcook.co.nz

THAI GREEN CURRY WITH SWORDFISH

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 tbsp oil for the spice paste and a further 2 tbsp for the fish
3 tbsp green curry paste (recipe follows)
enough fish for the meal
1 standard tin each: coconut cream, coconut milk (use two cans of milk for thinner sauce)
5 kaffir lime leaves, lightly bruised
2 small, sweet capsicum sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup coriander and some Thai basil

METHOD

Heat up a pot over medium heat and add the oil. Saut the green curry paste until aromatic. Add the coconut milk and cream and bring it to a quick boil.

Add the kaffir lime leaves and capsicum. Lower the heat to simmer, cover the pot and let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce slightly thickens.

Cut the fish steaks into bite-sized pieces. Saut in oil until just cooked through.

Add the fish, fish sauce, basil and coriander to the curry. Stir gently and serve immediately with rice.

GREEN CURRY PASTE

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp sliced coriander roots
1 tbsp coriander
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp galangal
1/4 cup garlic
1 kaffir lime (regular lime will do if you can't find any)
3-4 tbsp sliced lemongrass
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup sliced shallots
1 tsp shrimp paste
2 large green Thai chilli peppers

METHOD

To make the paste, toast coriander, peppercorns and cumin in a pan until light brown. You'll hear the crackling sound when they're ready.

Let the spices cool so they will grind easily.

Slice shallots, lemongrass, galangal and cilantro roots into small pieces. I use one lemongrass stalk.

Slice thinly or grate the kaffir lime zest, about 1 tablespoon. They will grind into fine paste with smaller fibres.