Recipe: Red Curry Shrimp and Butternut Squash

Are you still in a turkey coma? Looking for something other than Thanksgiving leftovers today? Here's a quick curry recipe that "R" and I enjoyed recently.

Red Curry Shrimp & Butternut Squash (4 servings, 6-7 cups, Total time = 30 minutes)

Heat:
1 Tbsp. peanut oil
1/2 cup sliced shallots
3-4 Tbsp. red curry paste

Combine:
1 can coconut milk (14 oz.)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. minced lemon zest
4 cups cubed and peeled butternut squash (many grocery stores will have fresh squash already peeled and cubed, but you can use bagged frozen squash as well)

Add:
1 lb. medium shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt to taste
cooked basmati rice
fresh cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium.
Add shallots and curry paste; stir-fry 2 minutes.
Combine coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, sugar, and zest; add to wok.
Bring mixture to a boil; add squash.
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer mixture, covered, 10 minutes.
Uncover wok and simmer until squash is tender, 10 minutes more.
Add shrimp and tomatoes; simmer until shrimp turns pink, 2-3 minutes.
Right before serving, stir in peas and lime juice; season with salt.
Serve curry with rice and garnish with cilantro.

This dish was bright and delicious. We added another squirt of fresh lime juice when plating. The only "thing" was that the sauce was thin and light, and didn't feel like a traditional curry to me. I just needed to get that concept out of my head, because we did enjoy the dish. It came from the December 2013 issue of Cuisine at Home magazine.