Coconut Basil Stew with Late Summer Vegetables

by Angela Trentadue

For some reason, I think that coconut-based sauces should be relegated to winter and made with hardy squashes. But I had a bevy of colorful vegetables and a yen for a spicy coconut sauce, and I had to find a way to put them together. I like the way this dish allows us to hang on to summer well into September with beautiful crunchy carrots and peppers, the last of the pungent basil, and bright citrus flavors in the coconut sauce.

Ingredients

1 pound mixed vegetables: carrots, green beans, red pepper
1 lg head bok choy, stems sliced, leaves cut into 2″ wide strips
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, stemmed and seeded, diced
1 stem lemongrass, tender inner layers only, chopped fine
zest from one lime
1 15 oz can coconut milk
salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbs soy sauce
juice from 1 lime
10 large basil leaves, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Peel and cut carrots on the bias into 1/4″ thick slices. Cut the tops off the green beans and cut into 1-2″ lengths. Clean and seed the red pepper, cut into 1/4″ wide strips about 1-2″ long.
2. Parboil carrots and green beans about 1 minute, plunging into cold water just after to halt any further cooking.
3. Make a paste of garlic, jalapeno, lemongrass and zest.
4. Heat a wok, add the coconut milk and the paste. Simmer for 1 minute.
5. Add the vegetables. Season lightly with salt, then add the pepper flakes and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the soy sauce, lime juice and basil leaves. Simmer for 1 minute more. Serve with basmati or jasmine rice.