500 g Cup or chestnut mushrooms;
-(or a mix of both)
1 tb Sunflower oil
1 sm Hot chilli; such as bird's
-eye; finely chopped,
-including the seeds
3 cl Garlic; peeled and crushed
1 tb Curry powder or mild curry
-paste
2 tb Crunchy peanut butter
400 ml Can coconut milk
Soy sauce
1 Lime; juice of
Coriander; finely chopped;
-(optional)
My version of a delicious, easy dish shown to me by David Bailey,
founder chef of the lovely vegetarian restaurant Saf. As well as
serving it up as part of a spread, you can make a meal of it by
serving it hot with rice and maybe some garlicky greens.
Finely dice the mushrooms into 3 to 4 mm pieces. (Alternatively, chop
them in a food processor, but don't blitz them too fine.) Heat the
oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the mushrooms
and cook briskly, stirring often, until all the liquid they release
has evaporated. Add the chilli and garlic, and fry for one minute
more. Add the curry powder/paste and peanut butter, stir in
thoroughly, then add the coconut milk. Let it all bubble rapidly,
stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn, until thick and
reduced up to half an hour then add soy sauce and lime juice to taste.
Tip into a bowl, scatter with coriander (if using) and serve warm or
at room temperature. Flatbreads or, in fact, any decent bread and
fresh vegetable crudites make the perfect accompaniment.
