Garlic and basil pattypan squash stir-fry

There is nothing simpler than this delicious pattypan squash stir-fry! Fresh seasonal ingredients and literally 12 minutes from cutting board to belly.

Try it and let me know how you liked it!



INGREDIENTS (2 people as main vegetarian dish, 4 people as small side):
- 2 lbs assorted summer squash (I used a mix of pattypan squash and round zucchini)
- 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
- 1 large garlic clove
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste


RECIPE:
- dice the squash into bite-sized cubes, crush the garlic clove and chop the basil leaves

- in a large pan, infuse the olive oil with the garlic clove and a basil bloom (if you have one on hand, otherwise just a few strips of chopped basil will do) over very low heat, then remove the golden garlic and either reserve for service or discard

- saute the diced squash in the infused olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, then add salt and pepper to taste as well as the basil leaves and cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, or until the squash is cooked to your liking (I like mine quite al dente)

- serve hot, room temperature or cold as a main vegan dish, along with some rice or quinoa, as a side to grilled pork, chicken, tuna or swordfish (that's how I ate mine). The leftovers are delicious as a cold salad with a splash of balsamic vinegar, or just as a snack on toast!
- Enjoy!

Tamarind, basil and snow peas chicken stir-fry

No story behind this recipe. Just that I went to an Asian supermarket over the weekend and stocked up on tamarind paste and snow peas and wanted to play with them :)



INGREDIENTS (for 4 people, or 2 people with leftovers)
- 2 large chicken breasts, sliced finely and dredged in cornstarch
- 1 medium onion, diced finely
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger, in fine sticks
- 1 tbsp fresh chili paste (I used Sambal Oelek, but you can also use a fresh red chili of your choice and grate it into a paste)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup tamarind paste (you can make your own out of the dried fruit: click here for a recipe, or rehydrate commercially available tamarind concentrate)
- 2 1/2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 3 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- about 1 cup chicken broth
- snow peas, rinsed (I think I had about 1.5 lbs here, but you can use as much as you want, really!)
- a big handful of fresh Thai basil
- a splash of coconut oil


RECIPE:
- in a very (VERY) hot wok, fry the onion, garlic and ginger in coconut oil for a few minutes, stirring almost constantly

- add the chili paste, the chicken and stir again until the chicken is almost cooked through (opaque), then add the soy sauce and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes

- while it is cooking, dissolve the brown sugar in the fish sauce

- after 3 minutes, add the snow peas and stir until well mixed, then add about 3/4 cup chicken broth and stir until the sauce coats the snow peas and chicken

- after 3 minutes, add the tamarind and sugar dissolved in fish sauce, and cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the snow peas are cooked to your liking, then turn off the heat, sprinkle fresh basil on top and mix well

Note: if the stir fry is getting a bit dry, add more chicken broth
- serve piping hot over steamed jasmine rice and decorate with a few leaves of fresh basil

- Enjoy!