Kitchen-Sink Curry

In the spirit of utilizing leftovers and embracing what's available in your kitchen, we present to you a delicious and versatile leftover curry recipe. This recipe is designed to use up those odds and ends in your fridge and pantry, resulting in a flavorful and satisfying dish. Today, we'll be creating a Leftovers Curry with yellow curry powder, featuring olive oil, white onion, broccoli, bell peppers, zucchinis, garlic, coconut milk, and some pantry staples.

Charleston Chest Service - the best private chef service in Charleston whips up a quick recipe utilizing kitchen leftovers. Here is a super delicious and easy and simple and cheap but amazing coconut vegetable curry recipe by the best private chef in charleston

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 white onion, diced

• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets

• 1/2 cup sliced bell peppers (any color you have)

• 1 yellow zucchini, sliced

• 1 green zucchini, sliced

• 3 tbsp yellow curry powder

• 2 tsp minced garlic

• 1/2 can coconut milk

• Red pepper flakes (to taste)

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Gather all your leftover vegetables. Don't worry if they're not in perfect condition; we're going to transform them into a delightful curry.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Add the diced white onion and sauté until it becomes translucent and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Stir in the minced garlic and yellow curry powder. Allow them to cook for another minute or so, until the spices become aromatic.

4. Add the broccoli florets, sliced bell peppers, yellow zucchini, and green zucchini to the pan. Mix everything well to coat the vegetables with the flavorful curry mixture.

5. Pour in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the curry simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. If it becomes too thick, you can add a little water to reach your desired consistency.

6. Season the curry with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste. Start with a small amount of red pepper flakes, and then add more if you prefer a spicier curry.

   Serve it over cooked rice, quinoa, or noodles for a complete meal.

This Leftovers Curry is a versatile dish that can be customized to your taste and what ingredients you have available. Feel free to get creative and adapt it to your preferences. Embrace the art of improvisation in the kitchen, and savor the delicious results of using what's available to you in the moment.

Tips for Pretty Plating

Hi Friends,

The Holiday season is fast approaching. That means lots of family gatherings, playing host, and entertaining people. You’ve gone the catering route already. Now you wan’t to make something homemade for your dinner guests and show them what you’ve got! Wether you’re a good cook or not, the final presentation of the plated food is very important in how the taste of the dish is perceived, believe it or not. Here are some tips and tricks to “wow” your guests with beautifully designed plates…….and hopefully the food is good too. heh

Build on your Starches

A typical balanced dinner meal will include a starch of some sort. “Build on your starches” means add it to the plate first. I usually will put it right in the center of the plate. For example, a big spoonful of rice or potatoes neatly mounded in the center of the plate.

Add a variety of Color

Be mindful of the different colors that will be in your dish. For this example plate, We’re building off a base of roasted diced potatoes and our main entree is roasted airline chicken. Those are two ingredients with very minimal color. If we presented these items on the plate by themselves, no one would be excited to eat it. So, We’re going to add a bright vegetable to the mix. It could be something green like broccoli. Red like beets. White like cauliflower. It really could be anything. For the example dish we’re building, we’re going to add broccoli and keep a fresh lemon, as well as some fresh chopped parsley handy for later.

Build “Up” on the Plate

Alright, so we’ve got our mound of diced potatoes in the middle of the plate and our steamed broccoli on the top right side of the potatoes in a nice neatly presented mound. Now we’re going to take our nicely caramelized airline chicken and lay it over the potatoes on an angle. Making sure we build the plate up high and not letting the potatoes flatten under the chicken. Building “up” on a plate with the focal point at the center is more of a southern style of plating. It creates for an interesting contrast of depth that catches the eye.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Garnishes

Alright, lets review this again. So now we have our neat mound of potatoes in the center of the plate stacked nice and high. Our bright green steamed broccoli in a neat mound to the top right of that. And we just added the chicken atop the potatoes in a visually interesting way. This plate is already quite pretty by itself but it is missing a little something. Take the fresh parsley you chopped earlier and sprinkle it on the plate - dusting the chicken, potatoes, broccoli, and exposed part of the plate. Now take your lemon and zest some of the lemon rind over the chicken and the broccoli. Once satisfied, slice the lemon in half and drizzle some of the juice over the food on the plate.

Finishing Touches

Alright, now my mouth is watering. The only thing left to do is get a damp paper towel and gently wipe around the edges of the plate where juices may have dripped or unwanted parsley or zest may have fallen. Finish with a little salt and pepper, take a step back, and be proud of the edible piece of art that lays before you.

pro tip: You could even take the presentation up a notch further by adding a quartered wedge of salted tomato or a very light sprinkling of some smoked paprika to give it an extra pop.

Keep spreading love, good people!

Best,

D.B.

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