Zero Waste Scotland is calling on us all to act now and put an end to unnecessary food waste.
The need to reduce this waste – which also costs households £1 billion a year – is highlighted as a Europe-wide week of action gets underway, which will see organisations and community groups across Scotland sharing their ideas for tackling food waste with their European neighbours.
We’re bringing you a tasty recipe every day this week to help you turn your leftovers into tasty tucker instead of throwing them in the bin.
Here’s today’s tasty offering:
Vegetable Thai Curry
Serves 4
You don’t need to make the curry paste from scratch – you can use a quick green or red Thai curry paste from supermarkets. However, this often contains fish so not suitable for vegetarians. This recipe, however, is suitable for vegetarians and vegans alike.
INGREDIENTS:
Thai curry paste
- 5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 5cm piece of lemon grass, outer layers removed and finely chopped
- 1-2 small chillies (hot), deseeded and finely chopped
Thai fragrant rice
- 200g Thai jasmine or fragrant rice
- 25g butter
- Sea salt
Thai vegetable curry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped finely
- 450g mixed leftover vegetables such as courgettes, cauliflower florets, peppers, small potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, mange tout, bean sprouts, carrots and spinach
- 400g can coconut milk
- Lime or lemon juice to taste
METHOD:
Thai curry paste
- Blend the ginger, garlic, lemon grass and chilli in a food processor until it becomes a rough paste.
Thai fragrant rice
- Put the rice in a large pan that has a tight-fitting lid. Add 375ml cold water, the butter and salt. Bring it to the boil, and turn down the heat to a simmer. Cook over a low heat, covered, for 20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid (add a little more water if the rice is not yet tender).
Thai vegetable curry
- Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion, add the Thai curry paste and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables with the coconut milk and simmer for 15-20 minutes (leave the vegetables that take a short time to cook and add those at the end).
- Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve the with Thai fragrant rice.
Health Note
Ginger aids digestion, and is a popular remedy for nausea. In natural medicine it is also used to protect against respiratory and digestive infections. Taken at the first signs of a cold or flu, hot ginger tea makes a comforting drink and may help to clear a blocked nose and stimulate the liver to remove toxins form the bloodstream.
www.zerowastescotland.org.uk