Roasted Aloo Matar Edamame

I was going to blog something else today. Um, cocoa brownies. Don't worry--they're on their way. But I got so excited about this recipe, I couldn't let it go.

We had a dinner party last night, an East Indian affair. Bruce charged me with the first course.

I waffled. I asked for advice on twitter. I hinted for help on facebook. It was disgraceful. But he was doing some major braise for the main course--with goat-cheese samosas as the intermediary course. Shoot. How was I going to come up with something for a first course?

I soon thought of aloo matar gobi, the potato-cauliflower-and-pea stew that's something of a staple. Yep, OK, that's a start. But I wanted to push it.

Boy, did I. Here's how. . . .

First, I decided to dump the peas in favor of edamame (green immature soy beans, familiar from Japanese restaurants). I bought a frozen bag of them already shelled, to toss into the mix, a little herbaceous savoriness, rather than those peas.

Then I realized I'd have to morph the curry to account for the less-sweet nature of the new vegetable triptych. So here's the curry I came up with: 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek, 1/2 teaspoon ground mace, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne. Mix it in a little bowl and set it aside.

Then I made one final, completely nontraditional, almost heretical shift in the recipe: I roasted the vegetables, rather than braising them. I wanted them a little caramelized, not mushy at all, more crunch per bite.

I quartered about 1 1/4 pounds (about 575 grams) small yellow-flesh potatoes and put them in a large roasting pan. I tossed them with a little olive oil, then put them in a preheated, 375F (190C) oven. I let them go about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Meanwhile, I removed the florets from 1 large cauliflower head. I put them in a big bowl and added about 1/2 pound (about 225 grams) frozen edamame along with all the dried spice mixture. I also added a generous splash of white wine to get everything well coated as I stirred it up.

Once the potatoes were almost tender, I poured in the cauliflower and edamame with their spices and any liquid. I scraped every last drop out of the bowl and into the roasting pan. I then continued roasting the vegetables another 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, to get them luscious and tender.

And how did I serve it? Ah, just wait until tomorrow. With a dollop of plain yogurt, yes. But more importantly, with roasted kale. Did you know you can roast kale? Incredible. Check it out here.

Comments

[Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial]

Do the fandango, baby. :)

Looks delicious! So good, in fact, that I don't even mind waiting for the cocoa brownies recipe.. :)

[Mark Scarbrough]

Celia: And now that cocoa brownie recipe is posted, too!

M.