Chef David Robertson on what to cook for a crowd, with minimal effort

It's easy to make, versatile and you can tell your guests, "I made it from scratch."

Chef David Robertson from The Dirty Apron Cooking School says his pick for a dinner party crowd pleaser that's deceptively simple is a homemade green Thai curry.

"The paste is the only thing you need to work for," said the chef, who has coached thousands of nervous cooks in the kitchen.

"When you're ready to make a pot of nice green curry, you can take some of that [paste] out of your freezer, hit it with some coconut milk, a little fish sauce, and you can choose what [protein] you want want to put into it."

With a dozen ingredients in the curry paste alone, Robertson recognizes the typically store-bought staple can be intimidating to make, but he promises, "once the paste is done, it's all easy."

To grind the rainbow of spices, his recipe calls for the use of a mortar and pestle, but he says a heavy duty blender would also work.

"You can puree that and it will last for months," he said.

'Pretty Thai for a White Guy'

Despite his training in classical French cooking, the chef says if he could choose only one cuisine for the rest of his life, it would probably be Thai food.

He says he loves the "pop" of salty-meets-sweet flavours.

"The ginger, the garlic, the lemongrass — I call those palette pleasers — people automatically go, 'wow' because their palette comes alive," he said.

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Robertson says his sister-in-law is Thai, and every year they get together for a Thai food cook-off.

Even though it's a battle he always loses, he says he's happy enough with the title she's given him: "pretty Thai for a white guy."

Robertson says he has tried poaching mussels, chicken and prawns in the flavourful broth, and they're all delicious.

The dish can be served with rice or as a noodle in broth. He uses a tablespoon of the paste with every half cup of coconut milk.

As a starter, he recommends a lighter dish such as a salad.

Green Curry Paste

• 8 small fresh green chiles
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 lemongrass stalk (finely chopped
• 1 kaffir lime leaf (torn)
• 1 shallot
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, stalks, roots
• 1 tsp fresh ginger
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• half a juiced lime
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp grape seed oil

Method A:

With the back of your knife, bruise lemongrass and slice as finely as you can. Also coarsely chop kaffir lime leaves, shallots, ginger and garlic.

In a mortar and pestle, start with the lemongrass until finely broken down. Add kaffir lime, black peppercorn and coriander seeds. Continue to pound away with pestle. Add shallots, garlic and ginger. Lastly, add the cilantro, lime juice and oil. Paste should be fine and smooth.

Method B:

If you do not have a mortar and pestle: Put all ingredients in a heavy-duty food processor and process to a thick paste. Transfer the paste to an airtight container. May be stored in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Thai Green Curry Mussels

• 1 lb mussels (cleaned)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 30 ml green curry paste
• 15 ml fish sauce
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh)
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 3 sprigs of Thai basil
• 1/2 red pepper (julienned)
• 10 ml grape seed oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe for Thai green curry mussels

8 years ago

Duration 1:20

The Dirty Apron Chef David Robertson shares a simple and delicious recipe

Method:

Rinse and scrub mussels and remove their beards before starting.

Place a small wide bottom pot over medium heat. Add grape seed oil, garlic and ginger. Sauté over a gentle heat, constantly stirring.

Add green curry paste (see recipe) and sauté to ensure that the paste does not burn; approximately 20 seconds until aromatics are released. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves and bring to a gentle simmer.

Add mussels and cover pot with a lit. Simmer for approximately 2 minutes. Do not remove lid to see how the mussels are cooking.

Once the mussels are cooked, season to taste with salt and pepper and additional fish sauce if required. Garnish with julienned red peppers and cilantro.