Recipes

Trader’s Stew

Trader’s Stew is a spicy mix of root vegetables, leftover meats (unless you’re a vegetarian like me, of course), and curry sauce. The curry sauce can be made from scratch following the recipe below, or purchased commercially at most Asian food markets and some larger grocery stores. My favorite brands are Golden Curry and Vermont Curry. I prefer to cook the stew slowly in a crock pot for many hours, but I’ve also included directions for cooking it on the stove top. As with most stews, the selection of vegetables can vary according to seasonal availability and taste, but this stew should always lean heavily on the root vegetables. This is also a great recipe for using up leftovers!

Curry Sauce (or Curry Roux)

Makes about 3 oz.

3 tbs butter (or Earth Balance)
3 tbs whole wheat flour
1 tsp garam masala (or curry powder)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp soy sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
pinch salt

Melt the butter then remove from heat. Stir in the flour, garam masala, and turmeric. Keep stirring until a paste is formed. Added in soy sauce, cayenne pepper, and salt, then beat until smooth. This can be frozen for later use.

Trader’s Stew

Makes 3 quarts, or about 12 servings.

2 large potatoes diced into 1/2 inch cubes (can be any combination of white, yellow, or sweet potatoes)
1 medium turnip diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large carrot thickly sliced
1 daikon thickly sliced
1 medium onion diced
12 Brussels sprouts
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable broth (or water)
3 oz. curry sauce (1 pkg commercial)

Crock pot: layer vegetables into the pot, dusting each layer with a pinch of salt, until the pot is within an inch of the lid. Add vegetable broth, cover, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Stir the pot about once an hour. When the vegetables are just beginning to soften, add the curry sauce and push down into the liquid. Check it in half an hour, the sauce should have begun to thicken, stir until everything is coated with sauce and continue to cook until done.

Stove top: in a large sauce pan, heat some vegetable oil. Add all of the vegetables (except the Brussels sprouts), and salt. Saute until the onions are translucent, then add vegetable broth and Brussels sprouts. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add the curry sauce and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Stir until everything is covered.

Adding meat: If you are adding meat to the stew, be sure that it is either already cooked (leftovers work wonderfully in this dish) or sear them until medium well done. Add meat at the same time you add the vegetables and saute them together. Fully cooked leftovers or precooked seafood can be added along with the curry sauce if you don’t want them cooked to death.

Serving suggestions: this stew serves best over white or brown rice (Aster ate it with wild brown rice at the Pig’s Snout). It’s also wonderful over thick noodles or on a biscuit. By itself, it can be served with a hearty bread or just some crackers. Like most stews, Trader’s Stew gets better with every reheating.

A confession: Trader’s Stew is heavily based on Japanese Curry Rice. Probably the number one comfort food in Japan today, “kuri raisu” as it’s called, is not well known in the West. When writing the book I was looking for a simple dish that might have been passed down through generations of Traders Run innkeepers from the days of the Old Empress. So, if you thought you recognized this recipe as something else, it’s all thanks to the Japanese and their wonderful Curry Rice.