Week 6: Spicy Coconut Greens with Tomatoes

Cooking with Jane, Recipes, , , , , ,

This recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi via NYT Cooking and is a wonderful combination of flavours and colours. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut with swiss chard and end up making a lemon, butter, parmesan, and chard pasta every week – it’s delicious, but so nice to shake things up!

The original recipe calls for shrimp – we used tofu instead, and the flavours and textures worked really well. I imagine using fish (salmon, cod) could work as well.

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Spicy Coconut Greens with Tomatoes

Ingredients

FOR THE COCONUT GREENS

  • 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
  • 2 green onion bulbs finely chopped
  • 2 bunches of greens – Swiss chard kale, or spinach – leaves roughly shredded, with the chard stems cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 4 garlic cloves finely grated
  • 1 2½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 ½ teaspoons)
  • ¾ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • 1 13-ounce can full-fat coconut milk, 2 tablespoons coconut milk reserved
  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice plus 1 lime cut into 4 wedges for serving
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce

FOR THE TOMATO AND TOFU TOPPING

  • 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
  • ½ teaspoon hot smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • Splash of tamari
  • 1 bag cherry tomatoes about 1-2 cups
  • 1 block tofu cubed
  • fresh basil, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Start with the greens: Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Once hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened but not colored, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chard stems, garlic, ginger and red-pepper flakes, and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the shredded chard and other greens leaves, one large handful at a time, stirring each batch to wilt before adding the next. (They won’t seem to fit at first glance, but don’t worry; they’ll cook down.)
  2. Pour in the coconut milk along with ½ teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper, and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring often so the bottom doesn’t scorch, for 30-50 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and the coconut milk almost completely reduces. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice and fish sauce, and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, make the topping: To a medium skillet, add the coconut oil and melt over medium heat. Add the paprika, turmeric, and tofu. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 3 tablespoons water and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tomatoes have burst and softened but still retain their shape. Keep warm on low heat.

  4. When ready to serve, transfer the coconut greens to a large shallow serving bowl and spoon the tomato and tofu mixture on top. Garnish with fresh basil leaves if desired. Serve with the lime wedges to squeeze alongside.