Curried Spinach - 2 Ways (Sort of)

Well,  this recipe was originally curried shrimp and spinach, but I enjoyed the spinach so much cooked this way, that I continued to cook just the spinach (oh, and of course I added a few extra treats in there)

The first few times I made this recipe I actually left out the coconut milk, and that is how we got the spinach 2 ways.  It can be a creamy curried spinach, or a lighter coated curried spinach.  Either way was delicious.  I suppose how I was going to cook with would depend on what I wanted to eat with it.  (the picture of the spinach with the chicken - the liquid is from the orange chicken sauce not the spinach)

The first time I made the spinach I realized I did not have any curry powder, so I used Thai red curry paste.  I have tried it with curry powder, but much prefer it with the curry paste!  I felt my spinach looked a little lonely in the pan without the shrimp, so I chopped up some chunks of mushrooms and it was soooooo good!

Curried Spinach (with coconut millk)

Ingredients

1. 2 lbs shrimps, peeled and deveined; (optional)
2. 2 tbsp ghee, butter or coconut oil; I use coconut oil
3. 1 onion, chopped;I didnt have any onion so Ive never used it
4. 2 tsp curry powder; I use thai red curry paste
5. 2 tsp tomato paste;
6. 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock;
7. 1 cup full-fat coconut milk; optional
8. 2 tightly packed cups shredded spinach;
9. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;
10. chopped mushrooms (those big meaty ones)

Preparation

Curried Spinach without coconut milk 

1. Heat a large skillet over a medium-low heat and cook the onion in the ghee, butter or coconut oil until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes.
2. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir in the curry powder and continue cooking for a minute. It takes some time to mix in the curry paste nicely so be patient
3. Place mixture in a blender or a food processor, add the tomato paste as well as the chicken stock and coconut milk. Process or blend until smooth. I skipped this step even when i used the coconut milk. too many unnecessary dishes. just simmer and stir, it will blend together
4. Pour the mixture back in the skillet and bring to a simmer.
5. Add the shrimps and spinach and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes, until the shrimps are just cooked. the time means nothing to me.  cook until the spinach cooks down to how you like it, or until the shrimp are as cooked as you like them.  I tend to like mine well cooked.

Original Recipe:  http://paleodietlifestyle.com/curried-shrimps-and-spinach/

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, both ways!

Happy Eating!!

JoJo!!