Vivo O Sonho

I love Trader Joe’s … I can create a month’s worth of menus just by walking the aisles and exploring the interesting ingredients. When we cruise, we’ll primarily eat whatever is fresh and the locals are eating, but I’ll always have creative canned options for long passages and when we want something different. This recipe is quick, full of flavor and served in a bowl, making it a great off-shore dish.

Hubby and I are creative eaters and love trying different spices and flavor profiles. I was never a fan of curry until recently; in the past I thought it tasted like dirt. I’ve found that curries are delicious in sauces when combined with big flavors such as coconut. I use only half a can of coconut milk as we like our sauce on the thicker side. I use the other half of the can in a yummy yogurt-chia recipe that I’ll share another time.

In this recipe I used fresh English peas; canned or frozen peas work as well. I like substituting cauliflower for rice to help cut our carb intake and cauliflower is one of those veggies that if kept wrapped and in the fridge will last for over a week, stretching our fresh vegetable stash a bit longer when offshore.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken cut into bite size pieces (we prefer thighs to breasts)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 jar thai yellow curry sauce
• Half a head of cauliflower, riced (or a package of pre-riced cauliflower)
• 2 cups of peas (fresh, frozen or canned)

Directions:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan or Dutch oven and brown the chicken pieces.
• Add the curry sauce and half of the coconut milk. (Make sure to shake the can well before opening; it settles at the top.) Bring to just a boil while stirring, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. If you want the sauce thinner, add more coconut milk.
• 5 minutes before the curry sauce is done simmering, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan or wok. Add the riced cauliflower and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover.
• Add the peas to the curry mixture and fold in gently. (If using fresh peas, add to the curry and cook for 2 minutes. If using frozen peas, allow to defrost in a colander before adding.)
• Spoon the cauliflower into a bowl and top with the curry mixture.

Serves 2.