VEGAN THAI GREEN CURRY - HIGH PROTEIN VEGAN MEALS

This must be one of the fastest vegan Thai green curry recipes ever! I’ve been exploring speedy, healthy midweek meals lately and this one takes each of those elements to the next level. I knew it would be quick, but out of interest I set a timer and the curry was cooked and in a bowl ready to eat in 12 minutes flat! (1) Perfect for those days when you’ve got back from work or have been chasing toddlers around the house non-stop, and have barely enough energy to switch on the hob. High protein vegan meals don’t get quicker.

If you’re looking for maximum taste in minimum time, nothing beats a curry paste for imparting flavour (David Thompson is THE Thai guru and can offer lots on inspiration in his epic books). I can never be bothered to make fresh pastes in the week, so I tend to do a larger batch at the weekend, then split them into 2 tbsp portions and store them in the freezer ready for when time is tight. Just pop a portion in the fridge the night before and it should defrost ready to use the next evening. If you want a vegan Thai green curry, as I did here, just omit the shrimp paste from my perfect Thai green curry paste. You can of course just use a shop-bought one (my fave is Blue Dragon).

Taking the greenness to the next level, I added triple brassicas, sprouts, cavolo nero and purple sprouting. If you’re after high protein vegan meals, brassicas are great. Between the three of them you’ll get tons of Vitamins A, C & K (which we could probably all use plenty of right now), plus lots of fibre and protein too. I’m not a nutritionist, but it is undeniable that brassicas are amongst the absolute best foods on our planet. Some people question how healthy it is to eat meat or dairy, carbs or low-carbs, fish or no fish, but I don’t think anyone can question how ridiculously good for you brassicas are, so getting a triple hit of them can only be a good thing. Hope you love this vegan Thai green curry as much as I did!

Serves 2 on its own – 4 if accompanied by sides

Ingredients
1 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
400ml coconut milk
400g sprouts, halved if small, quartered if large
200g purple sprouting broccoli
160g cavolo nero/kale, chopped
A splash of soy sauce (Kikkoman is my fave)
A squeeze of lime
A handful of chopped coriander
60g peanuts, toasted & chopped

Method

Warm oil in a large saucepan and cook paste for 2 minutes, then slowly stir in coconut milk. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer.
Add the sprouts then cover and cook for 3 minutes. Next, add the broccoli and kale, cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until all veg is tender and vibrant.
Add a splash of soy sauce, a squeeze of lime juice and stir through coriander. Portion up and sprinkle with peanuts.

Useful tips

One thing I learnt from wedding catering is how to use time efficiently. If there’s something that could be cooking or warming up whilst you do something else, get it on. E.g. pans on the hob warming whilst you get chopping, pastes in cooking whilst you finish prepping veg. You don’t have to wait to get every ingredient ready, then start cooking like so many people do, multi-tasking is the key!