Vindaloo

Since you're probably getting a little creeped out by my excessive Anna Olson recipe use, I'll switch it up today - today we'll check out a recipe from Jamie Oliver's cookbook Jamie's Food Revolution. A few weeks ago I made Jamie's Pork Vindaloo from the "Easy Curries" section of the cookbook. It was definitely easy and very delicious. It is a spicier curry that can be made with chicken, lamb, beef or pork, depending on your preferences. If you want a milder curry, simply omit the chiles.

Vindaloo

Adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution, p. 87

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 jalepeno pepper
• thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root
• small bunch of fresh cilantro
• 4 ripe tomatoes
• peanut or vegetable oil
• a pat of butter
• 1 3/4 pounds diced pork shoulder
• 1/2 cup vindaloo or hot curry paste
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 cup natural yogurt
• 1 lemon

Method:

1. Peel, halve and finely slice your onions. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Finely slice the chile. Peel and finely slice the ginger. Pick cilantro leaves and finely chop the stalks. Cut the tomatoes into quarters.
2. Set a large pan over medium high heat and add a couple lugs of oil and the butter. Add onions, garlic, chile, ginger, and cilantro stalks and cook for 10 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the pork and curry paste. Stir well to coat everything with the paste and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, honey and about 1 2/3 cups water (enough to cover everything), and stir again. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid, stir and simmer another 15-25 minutes. When meat is tender and cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper.
3. Serve with rice and a few spoonfuls of natural yogurt dolloped on top. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

This curry is so easy and delicious - if you've always been a bit nervous about trying curry, this is a great recipe to start with. It uses down to earth, easy to find ingredients and requires minimal prep work. I hope you enjoy this recipe! It makes a nice big pot of curry with lots of leftovers, but they never last long in our house. Happy Cooking my Friends! Check back tomorrow for my weekend wine suggestions.