A Hot, Tangy, Creamy Curry

A lot of us dream of having our favourite food celebrity over for a spot of shared cooking, eating and chatting. I can't tell you how many times I've had a wee talk, in my head, to Nigel Slater when he tours New Zealand and makes time for an afternoon to hang out with moi in the Five Course Garden kitchen. Some people might think this is tragic. I prefer to see it as a sign of a healthy imagination.

Usually I content myself with cook books. But I have the Simple Suppers series on my laptop, so tonight I set it up on the kitchen counter and cooked along with the "Spicy and Cool" episode. What fun! And what a great way to get over the Monday cooking doldrums.

I've watched this show many times, and I was keen to try the hot, tangy chicken curry, soothed with coconut milk. Not the chicken so much, but the curry paste and sauce, which made Nigel swoon. We've just eaten it with grilled eggplant and kingfish fillets and it made us swoon too. So here you go -- a curry to swoon over, any night of the week.

Nigel Slater's hot, tangy, creamy curry
The instructions are a bit short on detail, so I just winged the quantities here, and you can too. This is enough for two generous servings and a leftover.

You'll need

• A knob of fresh ginger, the size of a big thumb
• 2 cloves of garlic
• A long shiny fresh red chilli -- seeds left in for heat factor
• A big handful of fresh coriander leaves and stems
• The zest of a couple of limes
• Lemongrass if you have it, tough outer leaves peeled off. I didn't have any, so used a shallot instead. No relation. 
• Fish sauce
• Soy sauce or tamari
• 2 large, or 3 medium fresh tomatoes
• A can of coconut cream (or milk, but cream is delightfully creamy)

Whizz the first 6 ingredients into a loose, sloppy paste with some oil. Olive, sunflower, peanut, canola. I don't think it matters which.

Add a generous splash each of fish sauce and soy sauce or tamari.

Then add 2 or three fresh tomatoes, and whizz again until the tomatoes have disappeared and the mixture is saucy.

Simmer in a medium hot pan, preferably a blue one that contrasts with the rich goldy colour of the paste, until the kitchen smells like curry heaven, and the sauce has thickened.

Turn off the heat, and turn your attention to:

My grilled eggplant and kingfish fillets

You'll need:

• A medium-sized eggplant
• One piece of kingfish per person, filleted and skinned, but any firm, meaty fish will do the job.
  

Slice the eggplant into thick rings, brush generously with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill the slices on a hot barbeque for about 4 - 5 minutes a side. It's good if they get charred and smokey. Take them off when they feel squishy -- they will be perfect with the creamy sauce.

Brush the kingfish pieces with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Sear the fish on the hot barbeque, about a minute a side, just to seal it and give it some decisive scorch marks.

Bringing it together

• Bring the curry paste to a boil again.
• Pour in the coconut cream -- you may not need a whole can. Just add a dollop at a time, stir in and taste... keep going until you're happy with how it tastes. 
• Keep the heat low, and sit the seared kingfish pieces into the sauce.
• Cover and cook gently for 10 - 12 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
• Add the eggplant toward the end and let it heat thorough.

Just before you serve, stir in the juice of a couple of limes -- the ones you zested earlier -- and a handful of coriander leaves. 

Serve as is, or with plain basmati rice, or some noodles... 

... and swoon dramatically. Who knows, you might be just be on camera.