Clean Your Plate July!

My Recipe for July's Clean Your Plate Recipe Challenge is my favourite curry recipe so far. It involves full-fat coconut milk, organic, free-range chicken, curry powder, and your own favourite picks of in-season vegetables. My husband and I eat this served over a bed of organic medium or long grain brown rice, but you can serve it however you like (I have JUST started into this Real Food thing so be nice!). My husband and I are living on a frugal grocery budget, so I make one chicken breast serve both of us.

In any case, let's get started. This recipe will provide 4 small servings or 3 large ones.

Coconut Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2-3 tbsp of medium or spicy yellow curry powder (or however much you need to coat your chicken pieces)
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic (more or less, to taste)
red and green peppers (half of each)-chopped in 1/4 inch chunks
any other in-season vegetables (zucchini, cauliflower, snap peas), chopped
1/4 c homemade chicken stock

Directions:

Place curry powder into a bowl and toss cubed chicken in spice, making sure all pieces are thoroughly covered. Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil. Add in onion, ginger, and garlic and cook over low heat until softened.

THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT to ensure the curry flavour gets locked in to the chicken: remove onion, garlic, and ginger to a small bowl and add more oil to the pan, if necessary. Turn up the heat and add your curry-coated chicken pieces to the pan and quickly sear the chicken on all sides. **You are NOT cooking the chicken through at this stage, just searing it.

Add the onion, garlic and ginger back to the pan, add 1 can of full-fat coconut milk and 1/4 cup chicken broth (this part is optional, as it gives a depth to the flavour, but if you leave it out you get a more coconut-y taste!) and all your other vegetables.

Keep heat on medium until the mixture starts to simmer, then reduce heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Serve over your choice of rice, quinoa, or pasta.

Delicious!

***EDITED TO ADD: if you would like some heat to your curry, feel free to add dried hot red pepper flakes when you add in the coconut milk. I usually add a tablespoon, and that makes it pretty hot.