Well, I was going to make a dessert with the coconut milk I had left but then I got to thinking that it’s been a while since I made a Thai curry, so I put it to very good use with this hot, hot, hot dish made with a home made red curry paste and teamed it with another little hit of coconut in the rice accompaniment.

I’ve just been looking through my photos from our trip to Italy last year and we’ve just booked to go to Bologna for a few days in a couple of weeks time and I can not wait. I adore Italy, the place, the people, the double espresso’s… soooo looking forward to it. I need to re-read John Grisham’s The Broker, which is set in Bologna and talks about the beautiful walkways which I can’t wait to tread in person!

We’ve booked into a hotel this time instead of an apartment, thankfully there is a big supermarket nearby so it will be a lot easier to get our own snacks and lunches.

I’m just mentally choosing my outfits to pack, we’re going hand luggage only again, so I need to be very choosy with what I take, I’ve even got my Audrey Hepburn style sun glasses, all I need is a big floppy hat, a neck scarf and I’ll be superstar ready!

Vegetable Thai Red Curry served with Coconut Basmati Rice and a Thai cucumber salad (Vegan & Gluten Free)

MyInspiration Feel The Difference Range

Serves 2, ready in under 30 minutes

Red Curry Paste/Sauce

2″ Cube of fresh ginger, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 red chillis finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 red onion finely chopped

Pinch of white pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground coriander

1.5 tbsp mirin

Juice of 1 lime

1.5 cups canned coconut milk

For the Curry

4 large button mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 large aubergine (eggplant) cut into cubes

1 large courgette (zucchini) roughly chopped

1 can baby sweetcorn

Handful of fresh coriander

Thai Cucumber Salad

1 large cucumber chopped into matchsticks

1/2 tbsp mirin

1/2 red onion finely sliced

1 tsp soy sauce

Coconut Rice

1 cup brown basmati rice

1 cup vegan stock

1 cup of canned coconut milk

Method

1. Prepare the rice. Add the brown rice to a sauce pan with the coconut milk and stock, bring to the boil, give it a good stir, reduce the heat to low, cover and let this cook for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, when it’s ready just turn off the heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

2. Make the curry paste, by adding the first 9 ingredients to a food processor (or use a stick blender like me), pulse until the mixture smooths out before adding in the remaining ingredients to create the sauce, stir and set aside.

3. Prepare the vegetable curry. In a large deep sauce pan (or a wok) heat 2 tbsp water over a medium heat and add the mushrooms, aubergine and courgette and let this cook for 4 minutes before adding in the sauce you made along with the baby sweetcorn and let this cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally, just before you serve add in the fresh coriander and stir through and it’s ready.

4. In the meantime, you can prepare the cucumber salad, by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl, give it a good stir to make sure all the cucumber sticks are coated and that’s done!