Mild Thai Green Curry Paste

While pre-made curry pastes are nice and easy, the more authentic ones can be a little too spicy for a typical western European toddler's tastes, so this tones down the chilli heat and replaces it with green pepper while still containing the rich layers of flavour.

Ingredients

• 2 green chillies, de-seeded, membrane removed and roughly chopped
• 1 sweet green pepper, de-seeded, membrane removed and roughly chopped
• 5cm piece of ginger (about 50g), peeled (with a teaspoon) and roughly chopped
• 3 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
• 10 to 15g bunch of fresh coriander (including stalks) washed and roughly chopped
• 2 lmeon grass stalks, ends removed and roughly chopped
• 1 lime, zested and juiced (use both the juice and the zest, it's easiest to zest first)
• 8 lime leaves, cut into squares
• 2 stalks of thai basil, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp galangal paste
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender (aka liquidiser) and blend until smooth. This will require using a low speed to start with until it all starts to combine and then gradually increase the speed while pushing the mixture back into the blades with a spatchelor for a few minutes.
2. Store the paste in a covered container in the fridge for up to three weeks.
3. When ready to use, fry up the paste for a few minutes in a little oil.
4. Add about 800ml of coconut milk, a pinch of sugar, about 150g green beans, 75g baby sweetcorn, 800g sliced chicken breast, and greens (thinly sliced with stalks removed) and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Serve with fresh white rice.

Makes enough for a curry to serve 8.