CURRY RUNDOWN WITH BOILED GREEN BANANA
SERVES 4 (5 MG THC PER SERVING)
YOU WANT TO FEEL GOOD? You make a rundown! This is Jamaican comfort food at its best, and since it is loaded with healthy veggies, while it will fill you up it won’t weigh you down. When I’m hosting a brunch, I’ll often use up all the veggie odds and ends in the fridge to make a rundown—it can easily be doubled or tripled for a big group. Any time you add coconut milk to a dish it immediately takes on a sexy vibe—and it’s even sexier tun up with some Herb, too. Like lots of saucy Jamaican dishes, we begin by “burning” the garlic, ginger, and curry powder in some annatto oil (here). Burning it doesn’t mean you actually burn it; you just give it a good hard cooking in the pan. The flavors of the coconut, ginger, garlic, and curry are very bold, making this recipe a great one for introducing friends who might be wary of Herb flavor to a great-tasting Herb-enhanced dish.
BOILED GREEN BANANA
2 green (unripe) bananas
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
CURRY RUNDOWN
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon annatto seeds
2 tablespoons Jamaican curry powder
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and cut at an angle into ½-inch-thick slices
1 portobello mushroom, stemmed and chopped into bite-size pieces
2½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ cups bite-size broccoli pieces
1 medium zucchini, cut at an angle into ½-inch-thick slices
½ green bell pepper, chopped into bite-size pieces
½ Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced
3 cups light coconut milk
8 fresh thyme sprigs
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
3 large okra (optional), cut at an angle into ½-inch-thick slices
2 teaspoons CannaOil, preferably made with coconut oil
- MAKE THE BOILED GREEN BANANA: Slice the ends off of the bananas and then halve each crosswise. Use a sharp knife to slit through the peel down the length of the banana. Place the banana halves under cold running water and remove the peels. Use the back of a knife to scrape away any tough bits of peel still sticking to the banana.
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the salt and lemon juice (this prevents the banana from browning). Add the bananas and cook until the tip of a paring knife easily slides into a banana without resistance, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set the bananas (still in the water) aside.
- MAKE THE CURRY RUNDOWN: Combine the coconut oil and annatto seeds in a large pot and cook over medium heat until the annatto seeds tint the oil orange, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Pour the oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (discard the seeds) and return the oil to the pot. Add the curry powder, garlic, and ginger, and cook, stirring often, until the ginger and garlic are fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in half of the scallions and all the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion softens and starts to brown around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Then stir in the carrot, mushroom, and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook until the mushrooms start to get glossy and release their water, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the broccoli, zucchini, bell pepper, Scotch bonnet, and ½ teaspoon of the salt and cook until the zucchini starts to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk. Add the thyme sprigs, garlic powder, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the okra (if using) and the CannaOil. Cook until the okra are tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Drain the bananas and divide them among 4 bowls. Serve the rundown over the bananas and sprinkle with the remaining scallions.
